Finding Someone Like You
by thundercrash
Summary: After yet another failed relationship, Minako resolves to stop dating self centered models and find somebody more like her trusted best friend Makoto.
1. Prologue - The Makoto Scale

Finding Someone Like You

Prologue - The Makoto Scale

_In which Minako has an epiphany._

begin.

* * *

Heartbreak wasn't tangible. She couldn't throw her fists at heartbreak. She wanted to though. She wanted to fight it away somehow. To defeat it, to banish it.

She wanted to so badly to take action, but she had learned long ago that there was none that she could take. Instead of lashing out, Kino Makoto sat quietly, holding a weeping Aino Minako to her shoulder.

Reassurances crept out as gentle whispers. "Everything's gonna be alright, Mina-chan."

The crying had been slowly dying down, as expected. It had been going on for nearly thirty minutes, and she was getting anxious to find out exactly why.

Throughout the course of their friendship, Minako had developed a habit of spilling her guts in an unintelligible way, followed almost immediately by uncontrollable sobbing. It had been bewildering at first, and Makoto didn't quite know how to handle it.

But throughout the course of their friendship, she had come to realize that Minako just needed to let it out sometimes. So she in turn, developed the habit of letting the dams burst. The answers would come in time.

With a sense of finality, the sniffling ceased. Minako drew herself away from Makoto's tear stained shirt.

"I caught Yoichi-kun with another girl," came the simple explanation.

Long fingers curled into a tight fist at the name. The latest in a lineup of idiot boyfriends, Moron Number Six - Yoichi the necktie model. His jawline was perfectly chiseled, and his head was perfectly empty. Makoto could barely veil her disgust at the thought of him.

"I know you never liked him." Minako rested her head at the base of Makoto's neck. Instinctively, a protective arm draped over her shoulder. "But, I did. I thought I finally found a guy I could trust, but then he turns out to be exactly like Seiji-kun _and_ Yuji-kun. Why do I keep dating guys who end up cheating on me?"

She looked up imploringly. "Is there something wrong with me?"

Those moist ocean eyes were enough to break Makoto's heart. "Wrong with you? No, there's not a single thing wrong with you," she insisted earnestly, "It's those idiots who need to have their brains checked. They had a wonderful woman like you and they threw it all away. They're jerks, Mina-chan."

"Why do I keep falling for jerks, then?"

"I've been asking the same question," sighed Makoto, before asking, "Do you want to tell me more about what happened?"

Minako settled back into the comforting embrace and recounted the events prior. She had gotten off of a photoshoot unexpectedly early and decided to surprise her boyfriend at his apartment. He was definitely home. And so was someone else. A very vocal female someone.

"I ran off without confronting him," admitted Minako, "I just didn't want to get into it again. That's all I could think of. 'Not this again.'"

"So, you didn't actually _see_ them?" questioned Makoto. She didn't want to give him any credit, but felt obligated to confirm.

"The bra on the couch was a tip off," recounted the blonde sourly, "And the screaming of his name among other noises. It definitely wasn't his sister. She wasn't the type to wear such ugly shoes."

Makoto might have laughed at the flippant remark, if she wasn't distracted with her more violent fantasies. She let the image of shoving a necktie down his throat slowly drift away and returned to the present. Her best friend was hurting. "I'm sorry, Mina-chan."

"Why? You didn't cheat on me."

She shook her head. "That's not what I mean. I'm just sorry you have to go through this again. You deserve better than this."

"It's ironic, isn't it?" came the dull reply. "The so-called Goddess of Love keeps getting spurned over and over."

"Venus aside, you're still human," Makoto gently reminded. "Love is still tricky. It takes some trial and error. Even for you."

"I'm getting more error than anything lately."

Makoto held back a bitter chuckle. She agreed, but her own track record wasn't much better.

"Maybe, I'm just looking in the wrong places," considered Minako, "Or I should stop dating models all together."

It didn't seem like a bad idea. Most the male models Makoto had met so far through her friend were vain, self centered, imbeciles. And the ones that seemed halfway decent, were flat out gay.

"Where does one meet nice guys these days?" wondered Minako out loud.

The brunette couldn't come up with an answer for the life of her. The question was mostly rhetorical, so she was let off the hook. The thought lingered though. Where _did_ one go to look for nice guys? It had been a while since she had tried.

"Maybe I should just stop looking so hard and have one come to me," mused Minako.

It was a wonder how only mere moments before, her friend had been a sobbing wreck. The blonde's demeanor was now composed, yet wistful.

"I liked him, Mako-chan. I really did."

"I know."

Minako turned to face the brunette, studying her. "You didn't like him though. You never said it to me, but I could always tell."

Makoto cringed slightly. "Am I really that obvious?" She had been making a conscious effort to hide her animosity towards her friend's boyfriend.

"Not to everyone." The words_ 'just to me' _hung in the air unspoken.

The weary blonde sighed, flopping back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. "I never did ask you why you didn't like him."

"Do you really want to know?"

Minako nodded.

Makoto stopped and considered. She had never actually put any of it into words before. She hated his stupid face, his stupid voice, his stupid arrogant strut, but she knew those weren't the exact reasons.

"I guess it was his look," she deduced slowly.

The statement elicited a giggle. "He's a male model. They all look like that."

She backtracked and tried to clarify. "No, not the way I looked at him, but more like…the way he looked at you."

Confusion overtook Minako's features. "What do you mean?"

The brunette bit her lip, embarrassed to be screwing up her words again. "He should have looked at you differently. I don't know how to explain it. But I could tell by the way he looked and how he acted that he didn't really care about you the way…" She stopped, reaching for the eloquent phrasing that always managed to elude her. "-the way that he should have."

"Oh," came the simple reply.

Makoto was about to try to sputter up a better answer, but was silenced by Minako's large and genuine smile.

"Sometimes, its like you know just what to say to make me feel special, Mako-chan."

She shut her mouth and nodded, slightly stunned at the remark.

"I suppose I should just ask you sooner next time," mused Minako, "It might save me some trouble."

"It was just a feeling I had," mumbled Makoto, as she laid on the bed.

"You should trust in those more," suggested Minako. "You know what? Today totally sucked, but now that it's pretty much over, I don't really regret it."

"The day or the relationship?"

"The whole wretched thing," she replied. "I think I have a clearer picture of what I should be looking for."

Minako turned an appraising gaze toward Makoto. The latter raised an eyebrow, staring back questioningly.

"Is that so?"

"Yep," nodded the blonde definitively, before declaring, "I'll be using you as a scale. If I find a guy that treats me half as well as you think they should, I'll know I'm on the right track."

A burning warmth crept up the back of Makoto's neck. In that moment, she just knew she was blushing. Luckily, Minako didn't appear to notice enough to start making fun of her. The blonde was thankfully busy laying the pillows on the bed to her exact liking.

It was a strange routine they had developed, indeed. Minako would burst into her apartment crying, they would talk for a bit, and somehow, even when Makoto felt like she was making no sense at all, Minako would uncover some sort of resolution from her dumb babbling and go straight to sleep.

Ami was smart. Rei was articulate. Makoto felt like she was neither. She was supposed to be the one who beat up the problems, or be the one who showered her friends with pleasant distractions like consolation cake. When the hell did Minako start expecting her to be profound? And why did the blonde seem to think she was succeeding?

Minako settled underneath the covers, having finally achieved her perfect, yet undefined arrangement of pillows and sheets. She yawned one last time. "If only I could find a guy who's just like you, Mako-chan," she mumbled hazily, before surrendering to sleep.

Makoto pulled the sheets over her shoulder and turned on her side. Soon after, she shifted onto her back. And then back over again. She often had trouble settling in on nights like these. She had played the part of the dutiful, loyal friend with a surprising amount of success, but she never felt resolved. She wanted to do so much more. To say so much more. But what?

She tried not to toss too much, lest she disturb the slumbering form next to her, but her anxiousness was pervading her self control.

The questions bored into her.

What _did_ Minako want? Or need for that matter? A guy like Makoto? What did that even mean really?

She didn't know how to interpret the simple statement. That amidst a sea of nagging thoughts kept her mind tense and racing.

How was she supposed to find a guy like herself for Minako?


	2. Chapter One - The Bet

Finding Someone Like You

Chapter One - The Bet

_In which a contender makes the scene._

continue.

* * *

Around eleven in the morning, there was a knock on the door. Makoto looked up from her skillet anxiously. She had only just then put the eggs on the heat. She always had a certain nervous energy, when it came to abandoning her cooking. The idea of turning off the stove before the proper time or leaving it on unattended disturbed her greatly. Either option conjured up visions of potential culinary disaster.

She briefly considered asking Minako to answer the door for her, but the blonde was still in the shower.

She heard the lock on the door unclick. The doorknob turned, and she went on high alert, reaching for a nearby knife. She turned towards the entrance of the kitchen, burning eggs be damned.

"Hey, Mako-chan!" came a familiar male voice.

A surge of relief drowned her adrenaline laced nerves. "Sheesh, Shinozaki-kun! You scared the crap out of me."

Shinozaki poked his head around the corner. He spotted her holding the knife and laughed. A familiar scent wafted through the air. "Eggs, huh? So I'm guessing you forgot about our lunch date, then." He smirked and took a seat on the stool near the counter. "Oh well, your cooking is just as good, as long as you're making enough for two."

Realization smacked her brain. "Shit...It's Sunday, isn't it?"

Shinozaki nodded at her in that endearing, yet smug way that made her want to smack him and hug him at the same time. "Uh huh. Yesterday was Saturday, and I called you saying something along the lines of 'I'll see you tomorrow.'"

The chef turned back towards the eggs, cursing her memory. The scheduling part of her brain got tossed aside as soon as Minako arrived. As was the usual case. Something about that silly blonde made her drop everything, without even intending to. "I'm sorry. It's just...yesterday after you called, I got a little caught up with some stuff and lost track of time."

"Lost track of time? I called you at noon yesterday!" Shinozaki proclaimed in mock alarm, "It's been almost twenty four hours, how much time did you lose?"

She knowingly waved him off, "Oh, don't act so wounded. I'll put some more damn eggs on. Gimme a break."

Mischievous cobalt eyes twinkled, as he prepared to serve up another sarcastic jab. He was cut off by the sound of a female voice in the other room.

"Mako-chan!" called the sultry unknown voice, "Can I borrow one of your shirts?"

Makoto straightened suddenly, remembering that her model friend was still in her apartment. Apparently undressed. She turned to Shinozaki, whose mouth was left slightly open, questions practically dripping out of its silence.

She didn't realize how long that she and Shinozaki were staring at each other without speaking. It had to have been too long of a pause, because Minako sauntered out of her room, clad only in the monogrammed towel Makoto had received as a birthday present from Shinozaki's parents.

Minako ran a brush through her long golden locks, and both brown haired nervous wrecks took in a deep gulp at the sight of her.

The blonde spotted the unknown male guest and stopped in her tracks. "Mako-chan, you should have told me that you were expecting guests," she scolded. "I'm going to borrow one of your shirts, be right back."

She retreated into the bedroom. The door closing seemed louder than ever. The remaining pair turned back towards each other, both shellshocked.

Makoto knew she had to explain herself and do it fast." But, "Erhm..." was all that came out of her mouth.

"Who was that?" asked Shinozaki, before gasping, "Oh shit..." He touched his nose and headed rapidly for the paper towels. He wadded one up and blotted up the trace amounts of blood escaping his nostril.

_'Keep the eggs from burning.' _The frazzled chef took the pan off the flame and took a deep breath. She recalled from their youth that her childhood friend suffered from nosebleeds when he was really nervous. Particularly around pretty women. Apparently, the half naked love goddess strutting around in front of him set off that youthful affliction.

"That's what caught me up yesterday." She swallowed hard and tried to backtrack. "I mean who...caught me up. I mean, she came over and I got caught up, not that she herself caught me up in anything." Makoto started scooping the eggs onto three plates sloppily. She paused finally and took a calming breath, "That's my friend Minako. She was having some problems yesterday and wanted to talk to me about them. She spent the night, and I forgot to tell you she was still here."

_'See Makoto, that wasn't so hard,' _she chided herself.

Shinozaki cleared his throat, embarrassedly discarding some of the paper towels into the trash. "It's alright." His voice cracked a bit regardless. He cleared his throat again and in a much deeper, more intentionally masculine tone, he continued, "I understand."

Makoto set out three plates on the countertop. "It was unexpected. I'm sorry again for forgetting our plans."

"That smells good, Mako-chan," came the approaching voice of Minako. The blonde was clad in the tight jeans she had shown up in the night before as well as Makoto's favorite pink shirt. Despite the brunette's larger size, it hugged Minako's form surprisingly well. She turned to Shinozaki, who appeared to be in the middle of blowing his nose, "Hello. I don't think we've met. My name is Aino Minako."

Shinozaki hid the paper towels behind his back in one hand and extended his free hand to shake. He retracted it quickly, realizing there was still trace amounts of blood. "Sorry- I mean- Hello."

Seeing his dilemma Makoto stepped in, "Mina-chan, this is Miyake Shinozaki. He's my friend from way back. He's getting over a cold, so you probably shouldn't shake his hand right now."

"Right!" he agreed loudly, "I'll just wash my hands really quick. Please, excuse me." He bowed and darted off into the bathroom.

Minako sat down at the counter. "Well, that was embarrassing," she remarked, picking up a fork, "Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Minako, don't mind me, I'm just _naked_ is all." She turned towards Makoto with a raised eyebrow. "You should have warned me you were expecting company. I would have dressed for the occasion...or at least dressed to begin with."

Makoto held back the urge to laugh at the remark. "I'm sorry, I forgot he was coming over. It's my fault. Please don't be mad."

The blonde took a bite and smiled, "Oh Mako, you know I can't be mad at you."

The statement helped to lighten the load on the brunette's conscience. She had been lacking in the friend department that morning, so it was nice to hear. "Well, Shinozaki-kun and I were supposed to go for some lunch and it slipped my mind. He has a key, so he just came in."

Minako stirred. "He has a key?" she questioned flatly.

Makoto found herself confused at the apparent disapproval. "Uh…yeah?"

"Why does he get a key? I want a key!" whined the blonde.

"W-Well, I didn't-"

"I'm sorry about all that, Aino-san," interrupted Shinozaki, returning to the kitchen. He sat down two seats away, leaving a stool for Makoto in the center. The startled brunette handed him a glass of juice and sat down.

"Quite alright, Miyake-san," replied Minako cooly, "I should apologize to you, for interrupting your plans-"

"No no!" said Shinozaki rapidly, "It's perfectly fine. I mean, the more the merrier. We were thinking of seeing a movie, you should come with us!"

Makoto's left eyebrow shot up. They didn't talk about seeing a movie. They were going to grab some lunch and shoot some hoops. They always did that.

"I'd love to, but unfortunately, I have to eat and run. I actually have a shoot later this afternoon," Minako apologized again with a bow. "Mako-chan, I hate to leave so quickly, but my agent'll kill me if I'm late again."

"It's okay, you've told me how she gets," dismissed Makoto understandingly, "Go on, get going. I don't want you to get in trouble on my account."

Minako grabbed her coat and purse quickly. Once she had gathered her things, she gave the brunette a peck on the cheek, "Thanks, Mako-chan. I'll call you later."

She headed towards the door and regarded Shinozaki with a smile, "It was nice to meet you, Miyake-san. I'm sure we'll see each other again."

"Please, call me Shinozaki," he implored, "And I'll look forward to it."

"Of course, Shinozaki-san. Have fun, you two!"

And with that, the door closed. Makoto still sat, glaring questioningly at her male companion.

"Movies? We never talked about movies."

Shinozaki tried to play it cool, as he covered. "Well, if she stuck around, she probably wouldn't want to sit around while we play basketball. Would she?"

Makoto shrugged. "I suppose it wouldn't be as fun with three people. She's more of a volleyball person anyway."

"So..." he said, awkwardly pushing his fork around, "How come I haven't met Minako-san before?"

"I don't know? You never visit at the same time, I guess." She wouldn't have invited them to hang out at the same time anyway, unless she thought Shinozaki would have been interested in shopping and gossip.

"Is she one of your old middle school friends?"

"Yeah, we go way back." It was an understatement. They actually went back as far as an ancient kingdom from a thousand years ago. But that wouldn't make any sense with Shinozaki, so she added, "Not as far back as you and I, of course."

Shinozaki nodded. "Hey, was she that girl from the hospital? Visited you with the short blue haired chick after that monster got us all those years ago?"

"No, that was Usagi-chan," replied Makoto. She started listing on her fingers. "There are four of them. Ami-chan is the 'blue haired chick,' and then there's Rei-chan, and you just met Minako-chan. That's pretty much it for my close girlfriends. Want to know any more? Blood types? Hobbies?"

He nodded with undisguised interest, in spite of her sarcastic remark. "Hobbies is a good start. You mentioned volleyball?"

Makoto frowned. "Very funny."

"Yeah, hilarious," he brushed off quickly, "So, what kind of movies does she like?"

The brunette eyed her friend suspiciously. "I don't know if I like where this is going."

"Oh come on, Mako-chan!"

She cleared her plates and set them down in the sink with a loud clack, "You can't date Minako-chan."

"You're so quick to judge me," protested Shinozaki, "I'm not a bad guy. You should know that better than anybody. I just...want to get to know her."

The brunette glared. "It was the towel thing, wasn't it?"

He sobered. "That was part of it. She's hot, and I'm a guy. Sue me."

Makoto growled, "Shino-kun..."

"She didn't let it phase her," he added quickly, "She's bold. I like that in a girl."

She silently agreed with him. Her friend wasn't shy enough to let the incident slow her down. She liked that about Minako too.

"You like her, which means she's not so bad," remarked Shinozaki, "And you like me, which means I'm not so bad."

_'I'll be using you as a scale,' _echoed Minako's voice in her mind. She tried to shove the thought away.

"So, what's the problem, Mako-chan?" he asked.

The brunette shook her head. She actually couldn't come up with a decent reason why Shinozaki wasn't as decent of a candidate as any other guy. In fact, he should technically have been much higher on the scale because Makoto already knew he wasn't a heartless jerk.

But still, she hesitated. Why? She didn't really know.

"I guess there is none," she conceded slowly.

"See?" Shinozaki's grinning face didn't do much to comfort her.

"If you try anything funny..."

"Yeah yeah, you'll beat me up," waved off the brown haired man, "I'm not going to try anything. Sheesh Mako-chan, why are you being so paranoid?"

"Minako-chan just got her heart broken again," she revealed, "That's why she was over here last night. I just don't want to see her get hurt again."

"Oh," came the simple reply. There was a brief silence, while the gears began turning in Shinozaki's head. "Well, maybe it's too soon to ask her out then. It wouldn't be right, I guess." The disappointment was obvious in his voice.

Makoto's ears perked up at this. He wasn't the average guy. She knew that. She always knew it. But this was Minako they were talking about. She was a bit more 'protective' of the blonde than she wanted to admit.

"No. Honestly, she needs a nice guy like you. I'm sorry if I was being weird just then."

"It's okay, I get it." Shinozaki moved to help Makoto clean the dishes. "You know, I was the same way with you after Kobayashi broke up with you. I hated pretty much every guy that went near you."

"Yeah, I remember it well." She laughed at the memory of him threatening the other males at their middle school and handed him a dish towel. "Thanks for that."

"Hey, you saved me from bleeding to death, we're even," smiled Shinozaki.

"You won't be so thankful after I'll pummel you in basketball," goaded Makoto haughtily.

"Pummel me in basketball?" he gasped dramatically, "First, you forget our date. Then, you assume I have nefarious intentions for your friend. And now, you dare insult my athletic prowess?"

Green eyes rolled with a chortle. "I apologize for all, except the last one."

"Then, how about we make this game interesting?" suggested Shinozaki.

"A wager, you say?" Makoto grinned. It always came down to a bet with them. She often won, which was why she continued to agree to them.

He nodded. "If I win, you'll tell me more about Minako-san, and then tell her about what a great guy I am."

"And if I win?"

"I dunno...Pick something you want on the way. Doesn't matter, because I'm going to win this time."

Makoto scoffed. Oh, it was definitely on.

* * *

"A model, huh?" grinned Shinozaki. "I guess that explains the agent thing."

The scowl never left Makoto's face. She hated losing. There was nothing she hated more.

"Don't give me that look, Mako-chan," he derided gleefully, "It was a close game, but I'm just better at basketball, that's all."

Okay, there was something she hated more than losing. It was watching Shinozaki win.

He laughed again. That stupid smug laugh. She could have sworn he did that intentionally because he knew it irritated her.

"My game was off," she grumbled in return, "You won't win next time."

"Whatever you say, Mako-chan. So, what's Minako-san's favorite kind of food? Or better yet, does she have a favorite restaurant?"

"Kamehachi," she relented, "She likes just about everything on their menu, so you can't go wrong. But particularly, she likes their ramen."

"Hmm...okay," he considered, "What about movies? If I were to take her out to a movie, what would she be into?"

Makoto briefly stopped to imagine Shinozaki vacuuming her apartment in a pink apron while she laid on the couch taking snapshots. It would have been so sweet. Two more points and he would have been honor bound to do just that. If her hand hadn't slipped...

"Hey, Mako-chan?"

She snapped out of her daydream. "Oh, well you can't go wrong with a sappy romantic comedy. Uhh...what's out right now? Hmm...I'd go for 'Love Show.'"

Shinozaki nodded. "Conversation topics?"

She ran through her mental file on Minako. Dinner conversations, what would work for that?"Keep it light. Nothing too intense on the first date. She lived in England for a period of time, so she can talk a good amount on that. Tell her about yourself a bit. You know, job, family, college. But don't go on too long, she's gets enough of male models talking about themselves too much. If you feel like you've talked yourself into a corner, ask her about what music she likes, and she'll pretty much take over from there."

"What kind of music _does_ she like?" he inquired.

"Poppy idol singers. She wants to be one eventually."

Makoto looked at Shinozaki expectantly. Of all their years of friendship, he had never been too keen on that style of music. Said it made his ears bleed. She tried to force him to see the Three Lights with her once, but he managed to evade it.

No visible reaction this time.

"So let's see, take her to Kamehachi, ask about England and pop music, see 'Love Show,' and then...would a walk in the park be okay?"

"Not bad. See, you don't need me after all."

"Oh no no, you're essential," he insisted, "You still need to set us up, remember?"

"Yeah yeah," she waved him off, containing her irritation at losing, "I'll keep up my end of the bet. But after this, you're on your own."

* * *

Later that evening, Makoto finally returned to her apartment and flopped on the sofa. It had been a longer day than she was expecting, but fun all the same. She missed spending time with Shinozaki. She had forgotten how much fun they had together. But with her job at the restaurant, Sailor Senshi responsibilities, and four close girlfriends with a monopoly on her free time, she often neglected to call him.

She stretched languidly on the couch and flipped on the television. Nothing good on as usual, but she liked the background noise. The voices made her feel less lonely in her solitary apartment, though she didn't ever admit it out loud. She closed her eyes and let the news broadcast drone on.

An advertisement for a dating website perked her ears up. _Oh right. _She had to set up Minako and Shinozaki. She had almost forgotten their agreement. She grabbed her cellphone off the coffee table and began scrolling for Minako's number.

A musical knock echoed off the doorway. Makoto rolled over slowly, annoyed at having to get up. The uptempo knocking persisted.

"Yeah yeah, I'm comin," she muttered, on her way to the door.

Upon opening it, she found the very person she was about to call.

"Oh hey, Mina-chan."

The blonde stormed in, as soon as the door opened. "You wouldn't _believe_ the day I had!" Minako proceeded to kick off her shoes, toss her jacket aside on the floor, and heading straight for the fridge to grab a drink - all while rattling off the details of her day. She never hesitated to make herself at home her friend's apartment.

Makoto just nodded as the ranting went on. From what she could gather, Yoichi showed up to the shoot and got slapped in front of everyone. He apparently had to audacity to feign ignorance and then deny everything. Luckily, many of their female peers were around to witness the result of his infidelities, and vowed to never date him in solidarity. The shoot itself went fabulously, however.

"Ugh, I hate men. Pigs! All of them!" exclaimed the model, rooting around the fridge, looking for a drink. Makoto reached into the back and handed her the last diet soda. She never drank the stuff personally, but she kept it there for Usagi and Minako who seemed to live on the stuff.

Before she cracked the top of the can, Minako paused and asked, "Do you got any liquor to go along with this?"

Makoto cringed. Liquor and diet soda? That sounded downright unpleasant. "Err...no?" she shrugged, "I have some wine I guess."

"Cabernet?"

"No, Merlot."

"That'll have to do," resolved Minako quickly, "I'll get the glasses." She put the soda can back in the fridge and went straight for the cupboards.

"That bad, huh?" asked Makoto.

Minako took a deep, cleansing breath, "It was fine. I'm past my mourning stage and into anger."

Makoto imagined Yoichi's stupid, innocent act and the desire to punch the ignorance off his face was strong. "Welcome to my world. I bet I could snap that skinny little idiot like twig."

Minako similarly laughed at the image. "I bet you could. But don't." She handed the fighter a wine glass and winked. "I'd hate to see my Mako-chan get in trouble over little old me."

A small smile crept up on Makoto's face. "I'd hide the body well," she joked, "Or he could just get struck by lightning. Bam! Freak accident. No witnesses."

"My hero." Minako poured some wine in Makoto's glass. "How was your little date today?"

"It was fine," replied Makoto, "We played some basketball and then went to the arcade for a little bit."

"I thought you were going to a movie," recalled the blonde.

Makoto tried not to cough up her drink. "We uh...there was nothing I wanted to see."

Minako took a seat on the living room sofa. "Gotcha. You know, I would have wanted to see 'Love Show' myself. It looks fun."

The brunette smirked, satisfied at having her earlier guess confirmed. "Well, maybe you can see it soon."

"Yeah?"

"Are you free this Saturday?" asked Makoto. Minako grinned and nodded.

"Great! Because Shinozaki-kun was wondering if you wanted to go see it with him."

Minako's smile noticeably faded. "Oh. So, you don't want to go?"

"Well, he sorta meant it as a date," clarified Makoto awkwardly. "I thought maybe you'd want to try dating a non-model for a change. But if you don't want to-"

"No, it's okay, Mako-chan," cut in Minako. "We _were_ just talking about it last night. I should get back to that horse and lead him to drink, as they say."

They never really did say that, but Makoto let that one go. Instead she pressed on, "He wants to get to know you and he's a really good guy."

"It was the towel thing, wasn't it?" asked Minako wryly.

Makoto swallowed hard at the memory. "Uh, no no! That's not it. He just thinks you're nice."

Minako brought the wine glass up to her lips and considered. "Well, I _am _supposed to be using the 'Makoto Scale.' You've been friends with this guy for a long time, so I guess that can be be a testament to his character…" She took a large gulp of merlot. "He wants to go on a date this Saturday?"

The brunette nodded. "If you're willing."

"I guess I could give it a shot," relented Minako.

"Great!" Makoto let the relief wash over her. Although she didn't want to pressure her best friend, she didn't want to hear other best friend complaining that she didn't try hard enough. At that point, she could call Shinozaki up, say 'it's on' and the rest would be out of her hands.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Welcome to the next thing, ya'll. Fifteen chapters. Uploaded on Mondays. I'm normally okay at keeping this schedule. It's mostly written, I just need to revise and proof each chapter. So, the updates should be fairly consistent.

Next chapter:

Minako tries to find a dress that doesn't make her look fat, and Usagi figures out the perfect cure for her boredom.

Hope to see you next week! Love you guys!


	3. Chapter Two - The Preparations

Finding Someone Like You

Chapter Two - The Preparations

_In which Makoto gets pushed around by the blondes in her life._

continue.

* * *

"Does this make me look fat?" asked Minako, for the millionth time.

Makoto reclined on the couch, gaze fixed on the glossy pages of a magazine. "No," she replied in a non committal fashion.

"You didn't even look," whined the model.

"Because you're not fat," she argued irritably.

"I'm not asking if I'm fat," huffed Minako, "I'm asking if this makes me _look_ fat. There's a difference."

"Fine!" Makoto set the magazine down with a loud _thwap_ and gave her friend a good, hard look. A white halter clung tightly to every curve from her neck down to an exposed portion of waist. An absurdly tiny mini skirt wrapped around her upper thighs and barely anything else. The amount of cleavage was indecent, and for some reason, struck Makoto as wholly unfair.

The outfit was completely lacking in subtlety, but then again, so was Minako.

A sudden urge to punch Shinozaki in the face stirred within her. And before she could even begin to fathom why, a demanding call shook her out it. "Mako!" Minako was waiting expectantly.

She blinked. "What?"

"You're over-thinking it again. The question is simple. Do I look fat, yes or no?"

"You look hot," grumbled the brunette, snatching up the magazine and intently glaring holes into it.

The blonde's face split into a large grin. "This one goes in the good pile, then!" She winked that saucy wink of hers and flitted into the bedroom for another contender. "I'll be right out with the next."

Makoto groaned. If she had known that her visit was going to involve an seemingly endless parade of 'sultry, yet not to slutty' outfits, she would have never agreed to come over. Minako's chosen ensembles were getting more and more risqué every time she sauntered out of that absurdly jam packed closet. And it was starting to grate on her nerves, for some reason.

Minako was a stone cold fox and she knew it. She was a model for Serenity's sake! Why the hell did she need Makoto to compliment her every five minutes?

"Mina-chan," she called into the room, "One more, and I swear I'm done!"

There was a strangely haughty sounding laugh, followed by a muffled reply, "Okay! I'll make it a good one, then!"

Makoto flipped the page. Apparently the Three Lights had a few unreleased singles that their old record company was selling soon. She'd have to go pick that up next month.

"And last, but not least..." came a dramatic call, accompanied by an off tempo drumroll on the doorframe, "Fat or not fat?"

Makoto glanced up from her magazine and barely registered it falling out of her hands. Before her eyes, stood a vision of beauty in a light primrose gown. Her mouth went dry, as she scanned the figure covered by the floor length dress. A plunging neckline exposed a tantalizing amount of skin and trailed down into a trim bodice that hugged Minako's waist immaculately. A glint of a golden chain drew her eyes toward a tanned neckline, adorned by a small Venus sigil charm. Blonde tresses were tied back by her trademark red ribbon, flowing down her uncovered back like a golden stream. And dangling from her ears were two blue stones that matched her ocean eyes impeccably.

She was every bit a Princess of Venus. Every bit a Goddess of Love. Every bit an incarnation of elegance.

And Makoto found it hard to wrap her head around how gorgeously not fat Minako appeared in that moment.

"Mako-chan?"

"Huh?" replied the dazed brunette, still only half aware.

"I'm just kidding about the dress. Obviously, I'm not going to wear this to the movies, but what do you think?"

"You're beautiful," she breathed. Minako stared back, blue eyes mirroring a haze of confusion. Makoto blinked and shook her head back into reality. "It's a great dress, looks good on you. Not fat at all," she corrected. She cleared her throat, "Where'd you get it? I think I'll get one."

"Freebie from a shoot, can you believe it? Doesn't it kind of remind you of the Silver Millennium?"

"Um, yeah…I guess it does."

Minako's questioning gaze lingered for a moment. A trace of disappointment flashed across her face before being overtaken by her normal air of smiles, mischief, and honeyed laughter.

Makoto may have noticed, had she not been preoccupied by a strange pang in her stomach. Perhaps she could chalk it up to memories of another life?

Minako turned back toward her room, flowing fabric sweeping in her wake. Makoto dropped her focus back down to the article she had been trying to read and tried to shrug off the vague stirring inside of her.

Latent magical memories. That had to be it.

* * *

"Fat or not fat?"

She waited. And waited. And then waited some more.

Minako was irked by how long it was taking for a response. The dress idea had been just for fun, since her friend seemed suddenly uninterested in her impromptu fashion show. She knew very well she had been skirting the lines of decency and wanted to see how far she could push it, before Makoto cracked somehow. The process had become her newest game/experiment.

It started with Ami, who didn't make it very far in the lineup, but thus far reigned victor in 'favorite reaction.' The bashful doctor-to-be had turned into a flustered, bright red mess of embarrassment on Outfit Three. Rei came in second, making to Outfit Five before yelling at Minako to "put some damned clothes on" and berating her about public exposure laws. Usagi made it the longest, due to her unnerving enthusiasm about every ensemble, no matter how absurd Minako tried to get. She was forced to cut off the show when Usagi asked to borrow Outfit Eleven, lest she be accused of corrupting the Princess.

Makoto made it quite far, with an unexpected combination of all three of their friend's reactions. Flustered, yet annoyed, yet fascinated. The brunette's tolerance had reached Outfit Eight before snapping.

And so Minako closed the game, as usual, with her very special, very vintage, very Silver Millennium-esque ball gown. It garnered many 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the other Senshi, who all seemed to recall the elegant fashions of their past lives with a whiff of far off nostalgia.

The former Princess of Jupiter appeared far off, that was certain, but not quite in the same way.

"Mako-chan?" she questioned finally.

Her friend only gave a mumbled, "Huh?"

"I'm just kidding about the dress. Obviously, I'm not going to wear this to the movies, but what do you think?"

"You're beautiful."

The room itself seemed to still, and suddenly the offbeat quip she had stored under her tongue was swallowed. She stared. There was something different about her friend's intense emerald gaze. Something off. She was about to ask if Makoto was feeling alright, but the brunette quickly dropped her attentions back to the magazine, rattled off her 'not fat' response, and asked where she had gotten it.

"Freebie from a shoot, can you believe it?" she replied, shaking off her own daze. "Doesn't it kind of remind you of the Silver Millennium?"

"Um, yeah…I guess it does."

It was an odd, anticlimactic statement.

Ami had smiled that genuine smile of hers and started sharing some of her Moon Kingdom notes and theories. Rei's anger melted into that tranquil look that she had normally reserved for her meditations. Then, she spoke of her dreams about Mars. Usagi lit up with glee and recounted every single memory about every fun thing she could remember them doing together, even the vague ones.

Makoto just left it at that.

Minako turned back into her room with a light shrug. As she passed by her full length mirror, she was surprised to find a red flush adorning her cheeks. She brought a hand to her face, feeling a burning warmth underneath her fingertips. A mental note to turn up the air conditioning was made, even though Artemis did like it on the hotter side.

"I'm going to go with the white top," Minako called out the door, as she began to change, "I want to leave a little bit to the imagination, after all."

"He saw you parading around my apartment in a towel," came the peanut gallery's response from the couch, "He doesn't have to work too hard to imagine."

"Gimme a break! I thought it was just you and me," she huffed.

Minako finished changing and flopped down on the seat next to her friend.

"That reminds me, while we're on the topic of clothes, can I have my shirts back?"

"Which ones?" asked Minako, yawning languidly.

"Well, all of the ones you have preferably."

Minako cringed. She had developed a bad habit of borrowing Makoto's clothing whenever she stayed over. For some reason, she just couldn't help herself. There was an embarrassingly large stack of Mako items sloppily folded in the corner of her room.

She rose and returned with the gigantic load.

"Yikes, no wonder I'm out of laundry."

"So, it was more than I expected," she admitted sheepishly.

"I need to get you a drawer or something."

"But I like wearing your clothes," insisted Minako, "They smell nice and are really comfortable!"

Makoto simply glared.

"You're not mad at me, are you Mako-chan?" she pouted.

The brunette relented with a disgusted noise. To Minako's glee, the sad puppy dog eye thing seemed to work on Makoto time and time again.

"Ugh. Fine. Just return them sooner."

"Yay!" Minako hugged Makoto playfully. "Now that clothes are settled, what should we do on the date?"

"He's got it planned out already. You don't need to worry about it. Dinner, movie, optional walk in the park if things go well..."

"Alright, but what should we talk about?" asked Minako. "What does he like?"

"You know, this is the first time you've ever asked me for dating advice…"

"Well, it's easy to talk to models. The topics are modeling and ourselves. Duh. What else are we going to talk about? Shinozaki-san is your friend, so its different."

Makoto considered this and shrugged. "He likes sports," she ventured.

"Volleyball?" asked Minako hopefully.

Makoto smirked, "No, not really. He's more of a basketball kinda guy. It's our game."

"Oh." Minako made a mental note of this. She didn't really ever know Makoto to be into basketball. She'd have to remember that.

"We used to be in the same karate class, but he broke off and took judo, while I continued on in karate. So, he's a fighter like me. Though, we haven't really sparred in years. I wonder how that would go..."

Minako nodded. He gained an extra point for being tough. She always liked that in a guy. The idea of somebody fighting to protect her was always a plus.

"He's still in law school right now. It'll be two more years, plus his exams, but he's a smart enough guy. I'm actually pretty lucky that we're friends. He promised he'd be able to help me with all the paperwork and legal hoops, when I'm ready to open my restaurant."

Helping Makoto out. Extra points.

"I'm spoiling some of the stuff you should be asking him," realized Makoto. She stopped herself. "Just be yourself, Mina-chan. He'll be crazy not to like you if you do that."

People complimented Minako all the time. It was just a part of being a model, so she made a concerted effort not to let it go to her head. But when it was Makoto, with that kind smile of hers, Minako couldn't stop her heart from swelling. Makoto always had a way of making her feel really special.

The brunette rose. "Now if you'll excuse me, you have to start getting ready, and I don't want him to catch me here."

"You don't have to go so soon," she protested, "It's still early."

The suggestion was waved off. "You kidding? You take forever to prep. If I distract you, the next thing we both know, he'll be knocking on the door."

"But-"

"You're going to change your mind about every little thing, no matter how much I've assured you that you don't look fat. You know I'm right. I've gotta head out to meet Usagi-chan soon anyway."

Minako felt a tinge of jealousy. She wanted to hang out too. But she promised she'd give Makoto's friend a chance, so the feeling was set aside. She'd have to join in their shenanigans another day. A sense of date determination swept over her.

Minako led Makoto to the door. "Night, Mako-chan. And thanks."

"No problem." The brunette lingered for a moment. Minako usually gave her a peck on the cheek before they parted. When it didn't come as quickly as expected, Makoto kissed Minako's cheek instead and walked out. She apparently didn't feel like waiting. "Good luck!"

For the second time, Minako felt her cheeks burning. She definitely had to turn up the air conditioning. Hopefully, she wasn't coming down something.

* * *

"Do you know what theater they're going to?" asked Usagi.

"No, but I can guess it's the one closest to Kamehachi," replied Makoto, "Why?"

"Because I'm bored," remarked the odangoed blonde languidly, "We should go spy on them."

Makoto shook her head. "We're not going to spy on them."

Usagi frowned. "Why the heck not?"

"Because they're my friends."

The statement raised a blonde eyebrow. "That never stopped us before."

"It's different this time."

"No, it's not." They did this kind of stuff all the time. "What about Ami-chan and Urawa-san's date three weeks ago? You didn't have fun then?"

Makoto had to admit it was really funny. Usagi and she dressed incognito, with big dark sunglasses and hats. Usagi even brought her fake mustache, while Makoto cobbled together a mock cat burglar outfit. They followed them through the park behind large newspapers. They even got to witness some smooching.

"Alright alright, it was hilarious," she admitted, "But this time, it's Mina-chan."

"Remember that time two months ago, when we followed Mina-chan and Seiji-san, and you almost tripped him?" reminded Usagi, "Now _that_ was funny."

Funny to Usagi, but infuriating for her. The bastard didn't hold any doors open for her friend, so she stuck her foot out as he passed by them. He caught himself before his face hit the ground. Still, Minako felt sorry for him and fussed over him for the rest of the date. She growled at the memory of the undeserving idiot.

"Okay, but it's Mina-chan and Shinozaki-kun."

"So, what?"

So, she didn't want to watch them together because it would be kinda weird. "I want it to go well, that's all."

"Then, let's go make sure it does!" suggested the princess enthusiastically.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's our duty to help their date," declared Usagi, "We can be like Cupid's angels!"

Makoto didn't like the sound of that at all. "I don't know..."

"I'll get my mustache!" cried Usagi, animatedly rummaging through her strange assortment of props. "Wait! No even better!" She whipped out the Disguise Pen. "We can be _anyone_ with this, and they'll never know!" She cackled, obviously pleased with herself.

"Usagi-chan, remember that time you used it on Rei-chan and Yuuichirou-kun and it blew up in your face?" asked Makoto, referring to the unfortunate event that had been dubbed amongst her friends simply as, 'The Fortune Teller Incident.'

"Rei-chan is a psychic. Mina-chan won't notice, I promise. Come on, let's go!" Usagi grabbed Makoto by the sleeve and dragged her out the door excitedly. No amount of protesting was apparently going to convince her otherwise.

* * *

"I'll be out in a minute," she had told him fifteen minutes before.

Minako hated to admit it, but Makoto was absolutely right. She _did_ take forever to get ready.

She had been determined to finish her shower, makeup, and dressing on time, but it was so hard to make up her mind. Her eyeshadow didn't match her dress the way she wanted, so she scrubbed it off and tried a different one, but then went back to the first one and changed her dress instead. Then, she couldn't find her shoes. It wasn't that she didn't have shoes. She had piles upon piles of them, but none of them were the exact pair that she was looking for. It took tripping over a set of heels to remind her that Usagi borrowed them.

She peeked around the doorframe at her date. Shinozaki was waiting on the couch, patiently sifting through the magazine Makoto had earlier been reading. He held that same inquisitive stare that Makoto often wore when she was distracted, but trying her damnedest to concentrate. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized, it was as adorable on him as it was on her.

Minako turned back towards her mirror, studying herself appraisingly. She ended up with a combination of Outfit Two and Outfit Five, as well as the black heels that Rei had once dubbed 'ridiculous' (which made them a winner, in Minako's book.) Usagi and Ami had both liked the skirt on Number Two, and Makoto's eyes went straight to her chest on Number Five, though the brunette refused to admit it out loud.

She winked and blew a kiss at her reflection, then confidently strode out into her living room.

"Sorry to make you wait, so long."

He looked up and the magazine slipped from his hands. Wide eyes trailed her form before darting down towards her ridiculous shoes.

"It's alright," he croaked. Clearing his throat, he stood up to his full height, squaring his shoulders. "I had something to read, so no big deal."

Minako smirked, as he tried not to stare openly at her chest. "Catching up on your pop culture news, I see?"

"I caught Mako-chan's name on the address label," he shrugged, "Was she over here earlier?"

She nodded and teased, "Uh huh, we were talking about you."

"Good things, I hope," he chuckled, right hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Maybe," she replied vaguely. She spotted a small bouquet of blue flowers clutched in an anxious deathgrip. "Are those for me?"

He looked down at his left hand and jumped. "Yes! Yes, of course. For you!" He thrust them out awkwardly.

Minako fought down her laughter. The kind of guys she normally flirted with were almost criminally suave. This was going to be an interesting change of pace. She found the boyish nervousness charming, in a sort of endearing way.

Perhaps it would be best to tone down the innuendo for the time being. "I've always liked hydrangeas," she replied simply, "Thank you." She went to the kitchen to retrieve a vase.

"Yeah, Mako-chan suggested them. She said they matched your eyes."

Minako froze. "She did?"

He approached and held the blossoms closer to her face to compare. "Yep. And she was right, they _are_ the perfect shade of blue."

It was her turn to awkwardly clear her throat. "We should get going…"

He set the flowers carefully into the vase and headed towards the door. He opened it, in a gentlemanly fashion. "Ladies first," he grinned rakishly.

"Why, thank you." He reminded her of someone. That kind expression, sincere tone, and genuine smile. He was far more intriguing than she expected. Perhaps the date wasn't such a bad idea after all.

* * *

Author's Note:

Take this thing away from me before I rewrite it again. I gotta get cracking more on my other fic, but couldn't stop thinking about Minako's blatant trolling of her friends.

Next Chapter:

Usagi and Mako abuse the disguise pen. Repeatedly.

See you next Monday, folks!

* * *

To Last Week's Reviewers:

Light Penguin:

Thanks so much! I feel like, if I tell everybody that I'm going to update regularly, then it means I have to because I said it outloud (err..in type). I need deadlines for this, or I will procrastinate like crazy and keep rewriting chunks of it forever. Which, who am I kidding, I threw out most of this chapter and rewrote half of it today anyway. But it's out now, so that's progress.

….

Vchanny:

I'd hold back the detail, but I thought this chapter likely made it very obvious. This is a Mina/Mako fic. It's actually one of my favorite pairings to read. Because of the shit Minako can pull, basically.

I try to keep to keep our girls in character, as best I can. They all react to things so differently, which is what makes them so fun to write sometimes.

I hoping it'll be a fun read. I'm trying to inject more into it as we go, so hopefully that means moar stupid jokes too. Cheers.


	4. Chapter Three - The Date

Finding Someone Like You

Chapter Three - The Date

_In which Usagi plays dress up. _

continue.

* * *

"Shh...here they come!" warned one bush to another. Or rather, Makoto to Usagi, who both were hidden behind two different bushes. The pair ducked, thankful to be disguised in army camouflage fatigues, courtesy of the disguise pen.

Shinozaki led Minako to his car and helped her inside of it.

"I told him to make sure to open doors for her, or I'd punch him in the head," whispered Makoto.

"Good call," agreed Usagi, "She likes that. Look, she's smiling. Things must be okay so far."

"They should be heading towards Kamehachi," noted Makoto.

"We can head them off from the rooftops." Usagi said, as the car drove away. The pair sprang out of the bushes and up the fire escape.

The two agile warriors leapt from rooftop to balcony to rooftop. And with their more direct route towards the entertainment district, they managed to beat the car downtown.

"Who should we be now, Usagi-chan?" asked Makoto, once they had landed in an alley.

The odangoed blonde's face lit up with the possibilities.

"Firemen!" she blurted out.

"What? Why?"

"Um…I don't know," shrugged Usagi, sheepishly, "I just always wanted to be a fireman?"

Makoto sighed. "Something a bit more discreet, please."

"How about a mime?"

"A mime?" repeated Makoto, incredulously.

"They don't talk, that's super discreet!" insisted Usagi.

"One more try, Usagi-chan. Be serious or we're going home."

"Okay okay. What about an elderly couple?" suggested the blonde, with her hands in the air, "It's my eighty-fifth birthday, so we're out celebrating. And since it's my birthday, I get free cake."

Makoto paused to consider the idea. They had tried cobbling together elderly disguises before, but managed only to look utterly fake and ridiculous. With the disguise pen, it might actually work out. She had to admit, she was curious to see what sort of look the pen could come up with.

"It'll give me an excuse to wear a fake mustache!" realized Usagi, eyes widening in sudden excitement.

Before Makoto could officially agree or disagree, a flash of light glowed over Usagi's form. The twinkling subsided and a tiny old man with young, mischievous blue eyes stood in its wake. He tugged on his facial hair delightedly, before snapping at his suspenders.

"Where's my wife?" demanded Usagi, donning a terrible fake Grandpa impression. The disguise pen was shoved into Makoto's hands.

The brunette sighed and allowed the magic to wash over her. Her hair greyed and cheeks sagged. The thick army uniform melted into a brightly crocheted sweater and long skirt.

The old man burst out laughing at the sight. "Nice slippers, Mako-chan! Haha!" He was quickly swatted in the leg with a cane.

"Hey, why do _you _get a cane?" Usagi whined, "I want a cane!"

"Fine, you can have it," said Makoto, tossing the cane at her delighted husband. "You win, we're old. Now come on, before anybody spots us and starts asking why we're bickering behind a dumpster."

Usagi giggled one last time, before reassuming 'her character.'

"Honey, shall we go get something to eat?" she rasped in her deepest, most coarse tone.

Makoto chuckled and adjusted her scarf. "Of course, deary."

The pair hobbled across the street toward the restaurant. As they approached the entrance, a masculine voice called from behind them.

"Allow me, please," said Shinozaki, reaching out for the door.

"Why thank you, young man! It's nice to see your generation still has some manners!" remarked the 'old gentleman' loudly, patting the lad lightly with his cane.

Makoto cringed and shot her 'husband' a dirty look. "Yes, what a nice young boy," she mumbled. The old man just snickered.

"No problem, ma'am. Sir. Enjoy your meal," he replied, as he let the door swing closed. Minako regarded the couple with a warm smile.

The couples were led to two different tables.

"Way to over-act, Usagi-chan," admonished Makoto, as they sat down, "She looked right at us."

"Lighten up, Mako-chan," waved off Usagi, looking over the menu, "They don't know it's us."

"They'd better not," the 'old woman' grumbled, "I'd hate to have to explain this one."

When the waitress came by, they ordered their typical meals. Makoto had the large curry rice, and Usagi had the same. Plus ramen. Plus gyoza. Plus tempura. And free cake for her 'eighty-fifth' birthday.

The poor server stared in amazement that such a tiny old man could pack so much away. His wife seemed much less surprised.

"Miss, do you see that nice young couple over there?" croaked Usagi, in her old man voice, "Please send them each a glass of Chardonnay on us. But don't tell them who it was."

"Make that the Cabernet Sauvignon, please," corrected Makoto.

"Anything else?"

"Add another gyoza to that order, I'm starving," decided Usagi.

The waitress quietly nodded in stunned fascination and left for the kitchen.

"A glass of wine?" growled Makoto, "Mina-chan's a lightweight! Are you trying to get her drunk?"

"It's just one glass," replied Usagi, "It'll loosen them both up. Look at them, they're both obviously nervous,"

She glanced over. Minako was laughing at Shinozaki telling a fairly animated looking story.

Makoto wished she knew what the hell they were talking about…

* * *

"And then Mako-chan shows up behind the guy and says, 'I certainly hope you're not talking about me,'" recanted Shinozaki, "He turns around, and the look on his face is priceless. I've never seen a guy turn so sheet white. He runs off, and you can practically see the cartoony whoosh lines trailing behind him."

Minako giggled openly at the image. How they got on the topic of Makoto was beyond her. She had been intending to ask about sports or something. But the green eyed brunette _was_ something they had in common.

Their waitress appeared with two glasses, announcing, "We'd like you to try our fine Cabernet, on the house."

"Really? No charge?" asked a surprised Shinozaki as she poured.

"Yes, sir. Please enjoy."

Minako tasted the drink and grinned, "Wow, this is our lucky night. This just happens to be my favorite type of wine."

Shinozaki took a swig. "Hey, that is lucky."

* * *

Several tables down, the old couple watched intently. "Think they like it?" asked Usagi.

"Of course, they like it," affirmed Makoto, "Mina-chan loves Cabernet, and Shinozaki-kun loves anything free."

"That looks good, Mako-chan," eyed Usagi jealously, "Let's get some too."

"No, that wine was expensive." The elderly woman shook her head. "Our bill is going to be large enough with your food alone."

"It's okay," waved off 'her husband,' "I've got extra money. I'll cover it all."

Makoto was surprised. "Where did you get money all of sudden? You don't have a job."

"I have a job!" argued Usagi, "I'm a Soldier of Justice. And it's a great job."

"Yeah, but nobody pays us for it."

Usagi snickered deviously and muttered something under her breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"It didn't sound like nothing…Wait." Annoyed realization washed over Makoto. "You're doing that thing again, aren't you?"

"Thing?" replied Usagi innocently, "What thing could you be referring to?"

"That thing where Sailor Moon charges people in the park for autographs, handshakes, and attack demonstrations," clarified Makoto flatly.

"Like I said, Soldier of Justice is a great job."

A pair of green eyes rolled. "Just don't let Rei-chan find out."

"Or Luna," laughed Usagi, before adding. "Or Mamo-chan. Or Ami-chan. Or Mi…well actually Minako-chan would probably understand, but all the same, don't tell anybody about that."

Makoto sighed. "The things I do for my Princess…"

"Just enjoy the wine, Mako-chan. It's on Sailor Moon."

* * *

"Our families had always been close," remarked Shinozaki, "So, we grew up together. When her parents died, she lived with us. She's always been like my sister. But she kept saying didn't want to burden us. She chose to be on her own, though I really wished she would have stayed."

Minako was fascinated at the information. Any of the other Senshi were hard pressed to get Makoto to divulge those kinds of details about her past.

Ami assumed the avoidance came from painful, traumatic experiences, and chose not to bring it up, until Makoto did. Which she barely ever would. Rei chalked it all up to pride, and because she could sympathize with the feeling, she let Makoto have her secrets. Usagi tiptoed around the issues, as not to upset anyone. She always preferred to dwell on happier memories anyhow.

Their friends all let Makoto's undisclosed past be just that, undisclosed. But it drove Minako nuts not to know. She wanted to know everything about everyone. Celebrities, enemies, peers, friends…especially friends. Since this was her best friend, it was her business to know.

"What about money?" she inquired, "She didn't have a job or anything, how did she live?"

"My father is a lawyer," Shinozaki explained, "He helped her with the emancipation stuff and then accessing her trust fund early to support herself. My mother helped her find an apartment too, but she eventually moved to a different one when she had to change schools."

It struck Minako as odd that Shinozaki was able to be so straightforward about it. Makoto had always managed to brush that same question off when asked. The answer was far less complicated than Minako had expected. Though, it probably didn't feel very 'simple' to Makoto...

She felt an immense welling of gratitude to Shinozaki and his parents. "Your family has done so much for her. I don't know how to thank you."

Shinozaki seemed surprised at this. "You don't have to thank us." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "She thanks us plenty. She does her part around the family, and one time she even saved my life."

Minako recalled a time that Makoto went to the hospital when they were teenagers. "She gave someone her blood years ago. That was you, wasn't it? I remember that."

He nodded. "Yep, and my parents adore her for it. They're always like, 'Blah blah blah, when you marry Makoto…'" He chuckled a bit. "But, I couldn't do that. It'd be too weird. I mean, I love her. Just not like _that_."

Minako sighed and said wistfully, "I love her too." She blinked, surprised at having said that out loud. She added quickly, "And she loves you. I mean, she's said nothing, but fantastic things about you."

Shinozaki coughed bashfully. "Well, I'm sure she's exaggerating."

"No, she's not," said Minako seriously.

Makoto kept saying what a great guy he was, but Minako hadn't before realized how right she was. Before her, sat a guy who supported and stuck by his troubled orphan friend for years. Through the thick brick and thin skin of it, he was there and didn't seem to expect much in return.

It was comforting to know that Makoto had someone to rely on like that.

Shinozaki cleared his throat. "Oh well…enough about me…" he proceeded awkwardly towards a topic changer, "What kind of music do you like?"

Minako smiled widely.

* * *

"What do you think they're talking about?" asked Usagi.

"I don't know...no, wait. I think he's got her started on idol singing." Makoto noticed the shift in tone. Minako had been looking rather serious for a while. It was odd, as she knew the blonde normally avoided heavier conversations on the first date. Shinozaki apparently had to bust out the backup 'music question' to get the mood back on track. Luckily, it seemed to work, as Minako's face seemed to light up.

Usagi chuckled. "Well, that conversation is going to take a while." She finished off another glass and began waving for another. "Man, this is good."

Makoto sighed. Usagi was slurring her words already. She had almost forgotten that Minako wasn't the only lightweight in the room. Two drunk blondes, and she was stuck with the one wearing a fake mustache. Just grand.

She pushed her chopsticks around idly. She barely had anything to eat that day, yet found herself uninterested with the food on her plate. It was like she was nervous about a date that she wasn't even going on.

Usagi polished off another bowl with a loud slurp.

Or perhaps, watching her fake husband eat three bowls of ramen simply stunted her appetite. Makoto set her chopsticks down, as Usagi moved on to her extra gyoza. Yeah, that was probably it.

"Hey, it looks like they're taking the check," pointed out Usagi. She called over the waitress and handed her a hefty stack of bills. "Keep the change," she hicupped.

"Thank you, sir," said the amused waitress with a smile, "Have a lovely evening. Also, good luck keeping an eye on that grandkid of yours."

The waitress strode into the kitchen, chuckling. Makoto glared at Usagi.

"I told you, you were being obvious."

"Me? You're the one who's been staring."

"I was not!"

"Whatever you say, Wifey," snickered Usagi, shoving her remaining gyoza in her mouth, "Anyways, come on. They're leaving, and I don't want to lose sight of my precious grandchild Minako-chan."

The elderly woman stalked off in a huff, with her tiny wrinkled husband behind, chortling as he walked. The couple proceeded into an alley.

Two movie attendants in red uniforms came out, after a flash of light.

* * *

"Two for 'Love Show' please," said Shinozaki to the ticket seller. He would have preferred an action flick, but so far Makoto's suggestions were going over pretty well. Hopefully, Minako was interested in the movie, because he sure as hell wasn't.

"I've been wanting to see this one for a while," said Minako, as he handed her the ticket.

"Great, me too," he grinned widely, "Want any popcorn?"

"Not really, but you should get some if you want it. I'm going to head to the ladies room for a bit."

"Alright, I'll go scope out some unhealthy movie treats. Meet you back here."

Minako left to go reapply her lip gloss and check her messages, while Shinozaki headed towards the food.

"Hmm...what to get?" he mused at the glass case.

"Not sure? We're having a special on Chocobites!" announced the movie attendant enthusiastically.

"What's the special?"

"Uhh...it comes with a Free Diet Soda! You should really get it. it's a great deal! Ack!" She was cut off by a swift smack in the arm from a much taller movie attendant, who already seemed to be filling up the Diet Soda.

"Yeah, that sounds fine. Gimme one of those, then." The candy wasn't his first choice, but the shorter attendant seemed intent on pushing the idea.

"Here's your soda and candy," said the brown haired one, handing him the items. She turned around right away.

Shinozaki squinted. There was something about the attendant that seemed familiar. "Hey, have we met before?"

Makoto tensed. "No, I don't think so," she said in an exaggerated high pitched tone.

"Oh. Okay. I'm probably confusing you with somebody else. Thanks." He left exact change and was on his way.

"That was a close one," marveled Usagi, as Shinozaki rounded the corner.

"Dammit, Usagi-chan. I told you we should have been ushers instead of cashiers," muttered Makoto, as she tried to figure out how to open the cash register.

Usagi giggled, "And pass up the opportunity to get Minako-chan her favorite junk food?"

Makoto pounded her fist on the cash register in frustration. Much to her surprise, it flew open with a ding.

"See? Everything's going great." Usagi put in Shinozaki's cash and some of her own to make up for the Diet Soda they just gave away. "Who do you want to be next?"

Makoto slid the cash register closed and sighed. "Someone who doesn't work here for one thing." She could tell Usagi was going through a million different ideas. "And someone _discreet_, mind you."

"I've got just the thing."

* * *

"What did you end up getting?" asked Minako when Shinozaki returned.

"Just some candy. Came with a soda for some reason. You want it?"

"Only if it's Diet."

"It's your lucky day, then," he remarked, "You like Chocobites?"

A big grin appeared on Minako's face. "You kidding? It's my favorite."

Shinozaki handed over the box and praised his lucky stars. Things sure were going his way today. The flowers went over really well. The restaurant was great. Free wine that she liked. Free soda that she liked. The movie was probably going to suck, but who cares!

They strode into the the theater and managed to grab some choice seats too. Center section, several rows from the back. Why no one else had taken them first, was beyond him. But hey, it was his lucky date.

* * *

"You didn't have the threaten that guy, Mako-chan," whispered one secret agent to the next. She tipped her brimmed hat down in an attempt to be more 'discreet' after the incident.

Makoto tucked her dark sunglasses into her trench-coat pocket. "Mina-chan likes to sit as centered as possible. He had a big head and he and his friends were being obnoxious."

"Smacking popcorn and talking on a cellphone isn't a good enough reason to kick somebody's ass."

"I didn't use the words 'kick' or 'ass.'"

"Then, what did you say? Because they seemed pretty scared when they left."

"I told him we were yakuza."

"We're not yakuza," whined Usagi, "We're _secret agents_! Big difference."

"He doesn't have to know that."

Minako and Shinozaki showed up and settled into the vacated seats just as Previews were about to end. Usagi kicked back and started watching the film.

The movie dragged on for Makoto though. She had hard time paying attention to anything outside of Shinozaki's distracting fidgeting. He eventually tried the old 'yawn and reach' trick. Annoyingly enough, it worked. How the hell could Minako let something as lame as that fly?

"Psst...Mako-chan look," whispered Usagi excitedly, "He has his arm around her!"

"I hadn't noticed," grumbled Makoto, trying to pull her focus back to the screen.

Apparently in the movie, a stage actress falls in love with a bumbling male flight attendant or something. For whatever reason, this leads to comic mishaps. She assumed it was funny, because Usagi wouldn't stop cackling next to her. She glanced back at the steward spilling yet another drink on the screen, then back at Minako's head on Shinozaki's shoulder.

Their date was going well. She knew she should be pleased about it, yet she couldn't stop puzzling over the sight of the pair ahead.

"Oh god that was so funny!" declared Usagi. Makoto blinked. The credits were rolling. When the hell did the movie end?

"Yeah, hilarious," muttered Makoto distractedly.

"Where are they going next?"

"Uh...walk in the park I think?"

"Maybe I could be a cool skateboarder!" considered Usagi excitedly.

Images of Usagi careening into a bush made Makoto shake her head. "I think what we have on will suffice."

"What about gardeners?"

"It's night time. Too late."

"Fishermen on the lake?"

"Still too late."

"Police officers?"

Makoto sighed. She wanted to remain unnoticed and not have people coming up to them. "Let's just stay gangsters. The coats are nice and dark, and the hats help cover our hair."

Usagi tried, but she couldn't really come up with anything practical that wouldn't be noticed at that time of night. "Fine," she pouted, "And we're not gangsters. We're _secret agents_."

"Whatever you say, Usagi-chan. Now come on, before we lose them."

* * *

"I had forgotten how pretty the park could be at night," sighed Minako, as a cluster of fireflies buzzed past them.

They strolled along the moonlit lakeside. The air was warm and filled with the sound of a distant string quartet playing in a gazebo. They could see a small crowd gathered in the distance, and were heading toward it to join them in watching the musicians play.

"It's been a long time since I've been here myself," he remarked, picking up a flat stone and sending it skipping rapidly across the water.

"Wow, that was a good one."

"Yeah, Mako-chan and I used to have rock skipping contests. We both got pretty good at it."

"And who usually won?"

"Stalemates, more than anything. She threw them further, and I threw them faster."

"Hmm."

An amiable silence fell over them, as they enjoyed the scenery. Minako glanced over at her date, knelt over a cluster of rocks, searching for just the right one. He stood to his full height and her heart skipped a beat at his tall silhouette in the moonlight.

"Here," he said, offering her the stone. "Give it a try."

She took the rock in her hand and flung it into the lake. It sank to the bottom upon touching the surface of the water.

"Guess, I need some practice," she remarked sheepishly.

"Hey!" they heard called from behind. Minako turned to find a knife being brandished close to Shinozaki's face.

"Gimme your wallet," breathed out the heavily built thug.

"Who the hell are you guys?" Minako managed to sputter out in confusion.

The shorter one sneered, "Shut up, blondie, and hand over that purse." He yanked Minako's bag from her grasp unexpectedly.

"Hey!" she protested angrily, "Give that back, you scumbag!"

"Or you'll what?" laughed the tattooed man mockingly.

Minako's heel dug into the ground. _'Or I'll Sailor V kick your face in,' _she wanted to reply. She was ready to pounce, when she heard a cry of pain from her left.

_What? _But she hadn't made a move yet...

Shinozaki grabbed his opponents arm and twisted it back quickly, grabbing the knife in the process. He kicked the back of the thug's knee, bringing him to the ground, while tossing the knife into the water. The man cried out, when he hit the dirt with a powerful thud.

The shorter thug's eyes widened. Apparently, he wasn't expecting either of his victims to fight back. Minako shared some of his confusion. They both watched as the first mugger's blood spattered the earth via some swift punches to the face.

Makoto's voice registered in her mind, as Shinozaki wrestled the man back down to the ground, when he tried to stand.

_'He's a fighter, like me.' _

She puzzled at the sight of Shinozaki's powerful hammer blow to the criminal's jaw. Should she help? Cheer? Shinozaki seemed to be doing fine on his own, effectively blocking the mugger's attempts to retaliate.

"Go, Shinozaki-san, I guess?" she shrugged. She almost felt bad for the guy on the ground. But, then again, he tried to mug them. So, whatever.

With a final strike, the assailant was knocked unconscious.

A bead of sweat trickled down Shinozaki's face, as he patted down the thug for additional weapons. When none were found, he leapt up, adrenaline still racing through his veins. His eyes darted, searching for something.

"Where'd the other one go?"

Minako snapped back into reality and realized that the unconscious man's partner had already fled.

"That jerk has my purse!" she realized.

"Wait here, Minako-san!" shouted Shinozaki, "I'll find him!" He broke off into a sprint.

"What?" She wasn't used to playing damsel in distress. "You'd better hope my date catches you before I do! Because that bag is _PRADA_!" she shouted into the air, before taking off in the opposite direction.

* * *

The tattooed thug made the split second decision to try and hide. He dashed into a darkened nearby area, hoping to be shrouded amongst the trees and bushes.

"Big mistake," remarked one of the trees angrily.

He turned towards the sound and was clocked square in the face. He fell backwards onto the brush, instantly unconscious.

Usagi winced at the sickening crack that Makoto's fist made against the mugger's nose. "Yeouch. That sounded like it hurt."

"It was meant to," replied the brunette, thunder raging in her eyes.

Usagi began gathering all of the strewn items from Minako's purse, setting them back inside. She placed the purse out on the path, hastily retreating back into the cover of darkness. They could both hear the rapid approach of Shinozaki's footsteps.

The brown haired man's sprint slowed to a halt, as he approached the discarded bag. He looked around rapidly. The mugger was no where in sight. He picked up the purse, dusting it off in confusion. He lingered for a moment, still trying to find a trace of the man or the direction he might have gone in. When there was no sign left, Shinozaki shrugged and began heading back towards Minako. He had her bag and they were more or less unscathed. Seeking out the other criminal was no longer of importance.

"Phew," Usagi sighed in relief. He didn't see anything, and everyone who wasn't a mugger was safe and sound. "That was unexpected."

Makoto mumbled something that sounded like agreement.

"Yeah, I'm glad they're okay." Usagi looked down at the unconscious man and nudged him with her shoe. "Uh Mako-chan, what should we do with him?"

Makoto's attention wasn't on her princess or the knocked out lowlife. Tumultuous green eyes were affixed on Minako, who was fussing over a roughed up Shinozaki. His nice shirt was scuffed with dirt from his tumblings, and he suffered some scrapes on his arms and neck. She rifled through her purse for a handkerchief and started gently wrapping his torn up knuckles.

And then, she kissed him on the cheek.

The brunette stared numbly, knowing that he had earned it.

He had done exactly what Makoto would have done in the situation. Except she might have beaten the muggers to within an inch of their lives for even looking at Minako like that. The blonde seemed somewhat shaken by the occurrence, and Makoto wanted nothing more, but to run over and comfort her.

Shinozaki was already taking care of it. He was doing what he should. It bothered her still.

Every other boyfriend was easy to criticize, but her feelings of unease were completely unwarranted in this situation. Shinozaki had respected her like a lady, protected her like a knight, and was now treating her with kindness and compassion. This was exactly what Makoto wanted for Minako. What could possibly be wrong about it?

There was something though. She felt it in the restaurant, at the movies, and now when he held her close under the starlight.

"Hey, Mako-chan?" Usagi's voice broke through her thoughts. "I said, what should we do with this guy?"

Makoto looked down at the petty thug with disgust. Her raging fists wanted to wake him up so she could start beating him senseless again, but she never really liked going too far in front of Usagi. She merely cracked her knuckles, before relaxing her fingers.

"I don't know, Usagi-chan," she sighed, taking one last glance at the fleeting couple. She nudged the mugger with her shoe. The limp body rolled over.

"Yeah, he's gonna be out cold for a while," remarked the blonde, "Maybe, we should just leave him?"

"Don't you think we should turn them into the police or something?"

"I feel kinda bad for them. I mean look at this guy."

Makoto shrugged. She didn't really know what she'd say to an officer anyway. It'd be a bit weird to explain. "If you say so." Usagi had always been more forgiving than she, so she just went with it.

"One more thing, and then we'll head out." The odangoed secret agent started scribbling a note. Where she got the paper and pen, Makoto had no idea. Usagi lifted one of the muggers arms and placed the note underneath it like a paperweight. "Alright, let's go." The pair stepped out of the darkness and onto the path.

Later, when the man came to, he felt two things: a throbbing ache in his head and a crinkled piece of paper underneath his hand.

In cutesy curly writing, it read:

_"Sorry, we had to punch you out and leave you, but stealing is wrong! I hope you learned your lesson, mister! Now don't do it again or else." _

There was no signature. Only a crude drawing of a frowning bunny at the bottom.

* * *

End Notes:

Let's all pretend that this one was out yesterday…A combination of procrastination, the new SM Musical (go watch it, it's awesome), and my SilMil fic distracting me made me miss the "I'll update on Mondays "train.

Oh well, hope Mako and Usagi's shenanigans were worth it. If it was up to Usagi, she would have been a ballerina, a pilot, and the leader of a biker gang before the day was through.

But there's also mimes and secret agents, if you want to be "discreet."

Next Chapter:

Minako sucks at iceskating.

Later, friends!

* * *

To Last Week's Reviewers:

Vchanny:

Poor Mako doesn't even realize what the hell is going on. If she does ruin their relationship, it'll be probably be subliminal. Oh that dear, hot mess.

….

x-Anon-T:

Hahaha, I love your novels, dude. I've been trying to inject a lot of stuff that'll come back later, and it's fun to know that you'll probably notice all the references.

A lot of Mako/Mina stories that I've read (and also enjoyed) start off with Mako pining over Minako or vice versa. Minako knowing first and using her 'skills of seduction' on a hapless Mako has always been a hilariously entertaining trope to me. But I wanted to start this one off with neither of them liking each other off the bat. There's a status quo that we're living in - Minako has a new beaux every other week and Mako picks up the pieces. But what happens when Minako is dating a really good guy that makes Makoto inexplicably jealous? She isn't allowed to hate Shinozaki, because he's her brother. But man does she ever wanna punch him in the head.

Meanwhile, there's Minako who's trying to pin down the characteristics of her ideal partner. Shinozaki's got most of them so far, but is it going to be enough?

And then there's Usagi, who is kind of playing the similar comic relief role that Minako did for 'What We've Lost.' Minako says hilarious crap all the time to be a troll, but Usagi actually means it, which is a fun new dynamic for me right now.

I also can't wait to get further and introduce the other characters into the mix. Especially Rei. My goodness, I can't wait for Rei.

….

Ollsibub:

It's all plotted out, so yes, it'll be continued and finished. I'm just rewriting a lot of it, trying out some new stuff, throwing in some new ideas, and adjusting the perspectives. I'm glad you're liking it so far. I got the feeling that not very many people were reading it, so it's nice to hear from you. Thanks so much!


	5. Chapter Four - The Ice Rink

Finding Someone Like You

Chapter Four - The Ice Rink

_In which Minako falls. Hard. _

continue.

* * *

Minako gave the date a very positive review. She always carried a 'Date Scorecard' in her purse to go over with the other girls. Shinozaki's net results were rather impressive. Makoto allowed herself a smug sense of satisfaction at this, though she didn't dare take any of the credit.

He was a gentleman who held doors open, a good listener who let her go on about herself, a valiant fighter who protected her from some bad guys (even though she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself), and when he walked her home, he didn't even try to pressure her into anything.

The type of guys Minako usually dated normally tried to get her to invite them in for coffee or something obvious like that. Makoto knew very well that Minako refrained from sleeping with a guy on the first date. A kiss, if they were lucky, but not very many guys were.

Shinozaki apparently was. The ninety-three on the scorecard was indication enough.

Makoto's jaw hurt from clenching it through a fake smile.

"I definitely like him, Mako-chan," decided the blonde.

"I'm glad you're happy," was all she could muster in response at the time.

She didn't really want to talk about it. And luckily for her, the conversation shifted naturally to other, less stressful topics. Minako's burgeoning modeling career, Makoto's insane new head chef boss, Ami catching Sailor Moon in the park throwing her tiara at old soda cans for a crowd of spectators, Sailor Mars showing up moments later to set Sailor Moon's wings on fire briefly before dragging her off…All relatively normal, easy gossip.

She was grateful that she and Minako had plenty of other stuff to discuss. The same didn't carry over to Shinozaki, unfortunately.

"I can't stop thinking about her," he declared over the phone later that evening, "She's incredible, Mako-chan!"

"I know she is," Makoto agreed. Grudgingly, she added, "She likes you too, you know."

"She does?" he replied excitedly, "Awesome! I'm thinking about asking her out again this Friday."

"Where to?"

"Ice skating?"

"Is that a question?"

"Maybe. What do you think?"

Makoto thought back to the last and only time she had been skating with Minako. They had only known each other for a few weeks. She couldn't exactly recall if Minako had liked it or not. All she could really remember was being infatuated with the instructor, and Usagi falling on her ass a lot.

"I….I'm not entirely sure if she can skate."

"Hey, maybe that'll work out even better. I can teach her!"

Makoto winced. "Yeah…maybe…"

Minako excelled at many things, but a good student, she was not. Makoto had tried to teach her to sew, cook, organize herself, not piss off Rei so much, and various other essential life skills, with bizarrely varying results.

Minako could knit, but couldn't sew. She could fry an egg, but couldn't be trusted with a knife. She had an extensive cataloguing system for her magazines and photographs, but could never keep tabs on the clothes and shoes littering her closet. She knew just the right way to coax a smile out of Rei, yet loved letting the firebrand catch her playing Slinky on the shrine steps.

Could she handle skating? Makoto honestly had no idea. It was entirely possible. She had seen Venus do backflip kicks into a youma's face, so she was definitely coordinated and agile. But her skills and shortcomings were as unpredictable as her thought processes.

Shinozaki decided to go through with the skating date anyway.

Makoto made sure not to mention it to Usagi. They would have surely been caught, if Usagi dragged them on another supposedly 'incognito' spy mission. Her clumsy princess commanded far too much attention on the ice, via her ever frequent barrage of falling and crying. They would have been noticed, as soon as Usagi hit the ice. Literally.

She had to admit, she was slightly curious. Minako could get competitive, sometimes to a fault. Shinozaki was an excellent skater and a bit of a showoff. If Minako had any sort of skills to speak of, it could very well turn into a contest. Or Minako could fall on ass a lot and get super annoyed. Either situation seemed plausible.

The brunette willed herself to shrug off her interest. She stayed home that day, ruminating and baking. She managed to keep her mind off the couple, as she worked her magic around the kitchen. The familiar motions of stirring and scooping helped relax her remaining tension. It wasn't until the second to last batch of cookies came out of the oven, that she heard a rhythmic knocking on her door.

She had an idea of who it was.

Ami typically phoned ahead and tapped politely. Rei tended to pound on doors, as if they were personally offending her. Usagi often whined her name through the door, like a cat out in the rain. Makoto assumed she picked up this habit from Luna, because if she was hungry enough, there would be a scratching noise.

Judging by the cadence of the hits, it was probably Minako. Her knocks were often musical. Whenever she was in a good mood, they would be on beat with whatever peppy pop song was in her head at the time.

As soon as the door swung open, the golden haired woman exploded into the room.

"You have to teach me how to skate, Mako-chan!" she declared, kicking off her shoes haphazardly.

"I-what?" mumbled Makoto confusedly.

"Ice skating," she repeated, "It turns out I suck at it, and you need to help me."

Makoto stared blankly for a moment. She silently returned to her baking. Minako dropped her purse and jacket on the floor and followed the brunette into the kitchen.

"Ooh, cookies!" Minako reached for a piping hot confectionary sitting on the cooling rack. Her hand was swatted with a spatula.

"Those aren't for you."

The blonde whined. "But, I want one!"

An exasperated sigh escaped the chef. "For Jupiter's sake, if you'll wait _two seconds_! These are for Shinozaki's parents, and they're still cooling." She pointed towards another box on the counter. "_Those_ are yours."

Minako released a squeal of delight and went straight for the cookies.

"I'm serious about the skating lessons, Mako-chan," she mumbled through her full mouth.

Crumbs spilled out of the side of her mouth as she talked. Makoto rolled her eyes at the sight. If not for the red bow, Makoto would have sworn she was talking to Usagi.

"Why?" she finally asked, "What happened today?"

"Falling. Lots of it," scowled the blonde distastefully, "I'm a model for Venus's sake! I'm supposed to be poised and graceful. But, I ended up flat on my ass more than anything."

"You can have Shinozaki-kun teach you."

"He tried!" she huffed, "He wasn't helpful. I need you to do it."

"I'm not much of an instructor. Plus, I'm out of practice myself."

"So, what? That doesn't bother me."

"If you're really serious about, the ice rink people probably have classes..."

"No. It has to be you."

"Why?"

"Because, let's face it. Mako-chan. You're the only one who knows how to deal with me. You're more patient with me than anyone." Minako said this with finality.

Makoto stared at Minako like she had simultaneously grown another head. Kino Makoto? Patient? Sure, she let a lot of Minako's stupid crap slide, but she never considered herself patient by any means.

"But-" she started to protest.

"Remember the muffin incident?"

Makoto shut her mouth.

* * *

Several months ago, Minako decided that she was going to learn to bake, if it killed her. She couldn't remember specifically why. It had something to do with another model bragging about her amazing cupcakes or something. The exact details of what the woman had said were lost to time, but the deliberate mocking tone resonated.

A not-so-subtle challenge had been delivered, and Aino Minako never backed down to those. She wished the bitchy provocation had to do with something like volleyball or doing gymnastics in heels, but it was a challenge nonetheless.

That's how she ended up Makoto's kitchen.

It started off well. Then, she dropped a carton of eggs on the floor. She tried to clean it up right away, but ended up slipping on the gooey mess. She skidded right into Makoto, who had been retrieving a bag of flour.

They ended up in a pitiful tangle on the floor. She recalled waiting with bated breath for Makoto to start yelling.

"Minako-chan, what the-" Makoto started to say, wiping the flour from the across her eyes. She paused upon opening them. Her angry expression contorted, and a low rumble began to emerge from her chest.

Minako blinked in confusion, as Makoto lost herself in hysterical laughter.

"What?"

"Your face!" sputtered Makoto between gasps.

Minako touched her face. It was smothered in cracked yolks and egg shells. Her hair was dusted with white flour. She felt disgusting and probably looked even worse. She screeched at the realization that she was an absolute mess.

Makoto's stupid laughter wasn't helping.

The blonde growled, impulsively reaching into the flour bag and tossing a handful at her friend. The chuckling ceased. The chef's wide-eyed face was priceless. Or at least it was, for the three seconds it lasted.

Minako only had time to wince, before her small retaliation turned into an unintentional war.

The next ten minutes devolved into a messy bout of food flinging and then food wrestling. Minako had better aim, but Makoto had better grappling technique.

"Give up?" asked the fighter, who had Minako pinned to the floor.

"Never!" she cried.

"Good, that's my Minako-chan!" declared Makoto proudly, "But seriously, this time, I'm not letting you up, until you surrender and promise to clean up this mess you started."

Minako's face was slowly pushed into a gooey puddle of egg.

"Okay, okay!" she relented, spitting the gross mixture away from her lips.

The hold loosened, and she was picked up and set on her feet.

"Great. Now, go clean yourself up and bake me some damn muffins," instructed Makoto sternly.

Minako sighed. At that point, she felt incredibly tired and filthy. She wanted to just forget about the whole baking thing and watch t.v. But her punishment for "defiling the kitchen" was that she had to finish this dumb project.

It took forever. There were a series of minor mistakes. But Makoto wouldn't let her give up. She just kept making her try again.

By the end of night, Minako baked those damn muffins.

"These suck," she lamented.

"They're not so bad," shrugged Makoto, taking another bite.

"Okay, they're not _terrible_," she admitted, "But they're not as good as yours. Or even that stupid girl at work's."

"I've been doing this a long time. And forget that girl, she was just being a bitch."

"But-" she started to protest.

"Baking has nothing to do with modeling," reminded the chef, "She was probably just looking for something to be better than you at, because she's not as pretty or talented."

"You haven't even seen her!" argued Minako.

"You're Aino Minako. I don't have to."

Minako fell silent. She had no idea how to argue with that. Makoto's earnestness could be both embarrassing and flattering in a way the could never quite figure out.

"Congratulations on a decent batch of muffins," smiled Makoto, "Forget those other girls, they don't deserve any treats, if they're gonna be bitches to you. You should share them with our friends."

She did just that. Ami liked them and encouraged her to bake again, which was pretty cool. Usagi sucked them up like a snack black-hole, which was even better. Rei pretended for a moment to be poisoned, but eventually admitted that they were alright, which was delightfully satisfying.

Minako was incredibly proud of herself. And best of all, so was Makoto.

She didn't really bake much after that, preferring to leave it to the experts. But she was proud that she could. And she cherished the memory of making Makoto laugh like that.

Makoto was a pretty patient teacher. Shinozaki, on the other hand, didn't last nearly as long.

Oh, he tried. For a little while. But as soon as he got the feeling that his methods weren't going to be successful, he folded.

"Maybe skating wasn't such a good idea," he had sighed defeatedly. He guided her to the exit and suggested they do something else.

It irked her that he gave up on her so easily. Makoto certainly wouldn't have.

The more she thought about it, the more she could feel her competitive inclinations simmering within. She could do it, if she wanted. She was going to prove that she could.

She just needed to convince Makoto first.

"Mako-chan. If you can teach me to bake muffins, you can teach me how to skate," declared Minako, later at the brunette's apartment, "And I won't take no for an answer."

* * *

The next day, Makoto found herself lacing up her well worn skates, still wondering how Minako roped her into this. She arrived early to re-accustom herself to the ice. It had been a while. Minako would be late anyway, as per usual, so she would have plenty of time to get her balance back.

She slid out onto rink cautiously. She wasn't terribly surprised to find so few people on the ice. It was a weekday morning in the summer, after all. Thus, it was just her and two other casual skaters, assumably there for hell of it. It was a big rink, so they were easy to avoid.

She had forgotten how good the rush of cold air against her face felt, as she picked up speed. Growing more confident in her movements, she began to sweep in longer, more deliberate strides. The familiar sound of metal on frost halted briefly, when she took to the air for the first time. Her landing was a bit shakier than she was hoping, but she was still warming up. A determined expression swept onto her face.

Inhaling a deep breath, she pivoted on her heel. There was always something fun about skating backwards before attempting a jump. She bent her knees and sprung into the air, much higher than the last time. She rolled her body into a spin, before her skate hit the ice once more, carrying her nimbly on one leg.

The side of her mouth upturned. _'Still got it,'_ she thought smugly.

She sped up again and became lost in her motions, surrendering her sense of time and awareness of others. She hadn't noticed the other two skaters leave the rink. Or Minako arrive.

* * *

Minako watched in awe from the sidelines. She knew Makoto could ice-skate. It was one of the first things that she had learned about her tall friend. She remembered catching a glimpse of that skill years ago, a few weeks after they had first met.

Jupiter - Green uniform. Tall. Brown hair. Lightning powers. Able to carry Sailor Moon on her back. Can waltz.

That was all the info she had on her new teammate at the time. It was early, and she could count the number of interactions they had on one hand. And most of the time they had spent together was in Senshi form.

Jupiter - Good at skating. She had tucked that discovery away in her mental file on her new companions. She remembered being impressed, but the moment had been fleeting. Her concentration had been quickly diverted her Princess's loud flailings. She tried to help prop Usagi, but couldn't do much to stop her from falling over. Makoto was whisked away the pretty boy skating instructor turned youma. And ice skating never really came up again amongst the Senshi, probably because Usagi was woefully terrible at it.

She suddenly wished they had gone at least once more. Because she certainly missed something important the first time.

Her mental file grew and expanded over the years. It was much larger and extensive than it was during the 'skating incident.' She wasn't just the tall one with brown hair. She was Makoto - Modest to a fault. Forgets to care about herself sometimes. Protective to the point of recklessness. Has a physical strength overshadowed only by her willpower. Gives with her whole heart.

And now there was something else to add: Emanates sheer grace.

It was amazing that such precision could flow so organically. Minako's breath caught inside her chest and she suddenly could concentrate on nothing, but the ethereal vision in front of her. It was as if, _this_ was how humans were meant to move.

Aino Minako saw the brunette almost every day, but never like this. It was like she was seeing, actually seeing, Makoto for the first time. It was startling. It was fascinating. She was _stunning_.

"Hey, Mina-chan!"

Minako blinked and realized that Makoto was skating towards her. Her brain fought to catch up with her pounding heart.

"Hey, how long have you just been standing there?" smirked the brunette, obviously pleased with her success on the ice.

Minako gulped. How long had she been there? She tried to think, but had no idea. If she had to guess, she had probably been staring for a long time.

"Not long at all," she lied casually, "I just got here."

"Okay well, it looks like we have the rink to ourselves for a little while. Shall we get started?"

With a sharp intake of breath, Minako nodded and stepped carefully onto the ice. Makoto waited, observing her friend's movements. Her strides were slow and timid at first, but began to flow a bit more smoothly with time.

"I thought you said you sucked, Mina-chan," said Makoto, casually skating backwards in front of her friend. She cocked her head to the side. "You look pretty fine to me."

"What?" squeaked Minako, losing her concentration and balance. She slipped and with flailing arms went barreling into the brunette. The pair went skidding onto the rink floor.

Minako groaned unhappily. It was the damn muffin incident all over again. She opened her eyes and her whole body tensed. Her heart picked up again at the sight beneath her, as if to say, _'_You're wrong. This is _way better _than the muffin incident.'

She was positioned directly on top of her friend. Her gorgeous, athletic, astoundingly soft friend. A split second later, Makoto's eyelids opened to reveal the most brilliant verdant eyes that Minako had never taken notice of before. Despite being inches away from a floor made of ice, the blonde felt suddenly warm. Incredibly warm.

The two remained entangled on the floor for several beats more. Minako found herself captivated by Makoto's imploring gaze. It was as if, the brunette was waiting for something.

A beckoning voice hit her ear like music. "Mina-chan?"

Apparently, she did want something.

"Yes?" Minako croaked softly.

"Erhm...are you gonna get off of me?"

Ocean eyes widened in embarrassment. _Of course! _What the hell did she think was going to happen? She scrambled off her friend, trying to do so as quickly as possible. But she forgot about the skates and the ice and the slipping. Oh, the slipping! She ended up falling right back down into Makoto's cushiony chest. She heard her friend take the impact with an loud 'ooph' sound.

"Shit!" she shouted, "I'm so sorry, Mako-chan!"

Makoto stared up at her. A rumble began in her stomach and escaped out her throat. She began chuckling uncontrollably. Minako recalled that she had done the same in the kitchen, and then they ended up wrestling.

She yelped at the correlation. Now wasn't the time for wrestling!

She masked her inexplicable panic with annoyance. "Har har har," she muttered, trying to muster up a Rei-like voice, "Laugh it up, Kino."

"I'm sorry, Mina-chan," Makoto apologized between her incessant giggling, "It's just…first, I tell you you're fine, and then, _wham_ you're on top of me!"

Minako almost tripped again, but luckily had a hold of the side wall this time. She didn't like the way Makoto phrased that. Not one bit.

"Yeah, yeah," bristled Minako, "Aren't you supposed to be teaching me to skate?"

Makoto was already in the process of dusting herself off. "Of course." She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry."

Minako relaxed. "I'm sorry, too. For knocking you over I mean. It won't happen again."

"Nope. Because I'll be ready this time." Makoto reached out and took hold of her hands. Minako gulped. "Come on, we'll go slowly."

The pair took off once again, at a slow and even pace. Every time Minako felt like she was going to lose her balance, the strong hands managed to steady her. They circled the rink twice more before the stunned model stopped counting. Without realizing it, she stopped concentrating so hard on her feet and starting focusing more on the electric sensation of the fighter's callused fingers against her own.

"Mina-chan! You're doing great!"

Minako looked down at her feet. Oh. So, she was.

"Now I'm going to let go, okay?"

"Don't," she mumbled in spite of herself. She prayed that Makoto hadn't heard that.

But the brunette had. She moved in closer and whispered, "Don't be afraid to fall. I'll catch you." The soft words seemed to echo in her ear. They seemed to make Minako forget about her feet entirely. Her legs were left to their own devices, because all Minako could comprehend was the encouraging smile of Kino Makoto skating backwards in front of her.

"Hey, you've picked it up pretty quick!"

Minako, snapping out of her reverie, had to admit that the movements seemed a lot more natural. "Thanks, I uh...think I'm getting the hang of it."

"Wanna try something fun?" Makoto asked with a wry grin.

There was something suspicious about the twinkle in those emerald eyes, but despite this, Minako nodded. And to her surprise, she found herself foisted into the air.

"Mako-chan!" she yelped.

Makoto had grabbed her by the waist and lifted her high up, while she picked up the pace.

The speed was terrifying, but the contact exhilarating. Her heart hammered in her chest, as she thought about the powerful hands on her waist. Something about Makoto was messing with her brain today.

As she was lowered to the ground, she could hear her friend laughing. "Shinozaki-kun used to do that to me all the time, except he'd throw me afterwards."

"He'd what?" Minako squeaked in horror. If Makoto had thrown her, she wouldn't have known what to do.

"Haha, that's how we picked up tricks sometimes. By surprising each other. It was kinda mean, I know, but we've got pretty thick skin. Eventually, we'd learn how to land." Makoto released Minako completely and stuck her hands in her pockets. "Don't worry, Mina-chan. I'd never do anything to hurt you. Unless you wanna try to learn some tricks?"

"No, skating passably is fine enough for me." She changed directions and headed back towards the entrance.

"Done already?"

"Yes, my legs are starting to kill me," admitted Minako.

"Yeah, they'll do that," called Makoto, continuing around the circular path.

"Aren't you coming?"

"In a minute. I've got a couple more laps in me."

Minako sighed and flopped down on the first bench she reached. She slipped the skates off her throbbing feet and waited.

She proved to herself that she could do it. She knew she should have felt happy to have met her goal. But the satisfaction she normally felt was smothered by an overwhelming urge to flee the room.

Ocean eyes caught sight of the graceful ice dancer twirling across the rink, and a wistful sigh escaped her lips. She quickly brought her fingers up to her lips, surprised at the sound.

_Uh oh._

This couldn't be good.

* * *

End Notes:

Wrong, Minako. This is going to be great.

Sheesh, that was a lot more rewriting than I had intended. The muffin debacle was definitely a new development that showed up at like 3PM today, haha. Oh, and fluff, lot's of fluffy fluff.

Next Chapter:

Minako and Usagi get hammered.

* * *

To Last Week's Reviewers:

James Birdsong:

Thanks, James! Glad to have you aboard on another sinking ship of mine. Hope you like the rest of it!

…

Vchanny:

I'm having a good time with ridiculous Usagi. Yes, she's a powerful moonbeast that can save the world, but when she's not fighting evil by moonlight, she loves to have fun. We see her stalking her friends and sometimes even strangers all the damn time in the anime, and while it's not always intentional, I like to think she grows to love the act of spying.

Your three year old can't judge you if they like Sailor Moon too, you know. If I have a daughter, we're watching Sailor Moon like everyday, no matter what Dad thinks.

…..

Dark Moon Ministry:

First off, thanks for the really nice review! It's always cool hearing from new folks. Apologies for spoiling certain things in the Author's Notes and Review Responses. I make the mistake of assuming that people know where I'm going with things sometimes, like that the fact that this is a Mina/Mako romance fic. I'm a shipper, I read a lot of these kinds of fics whenever they come around, and they tend to be fairly upfront about the couples.

That being said, spoiler-ish stuff is probably going to come spewing out of me in the future (EX: Rei shows up and is awesome), due to my verbose nature and ability to excessively fangirl the Senshi in writing. So reading the Author's Notes and Review Responses are definitely optional, if you don't want to know about the thought processes behind the story. I do my best not to give away specific details also.

I always liked Shinozaki. Even though he was only in one episode, they managed to say a lot about his character. He cared deeply about Mako, enough to watch over her during her impending breakup and try to protect her from a monster that he had no chance against. And Mako doesn't hesitate for a second when the paramedics say they need blood to save him. They both have protective, caring natures. I used to ship Lita/Ken pretty hard when I was a kid, but now I like to think of their relationship more as close brother/sister.

This thing is plotted out, but I'll keep an eye on the progression of feelings now that you mention it. I suspect that some sections need to be fleshed out more. Glad it's working so far. Thanks again!

…

Light Penguin:

Usagi and Minako have a lot of similarities, but I definitely think they can approach the same situations in very different manners. That's what awesome about all of these ladies. Ami will do it differently than Rei, who wouldn't even think of doing it like Usagi, etc.

I can't find the exact quote, but August Wilson said something to the effect of, "If one character does something that just any character would do, you're not writing them correctly." I don't always hold steadfast to that rule, but I try to remember it.

La Reconquista made me so happy. I'm glad I was alone when I watched it, lest anyone else be subject to my squeeing about how fabulous these girls are.


	6. Chapter Five - The Night Out

Finding Someone Like You

Chapter Five - The Night Out

_In which a date turns into something more._

continue.

* * *

As soon as she opened the door, a small projectile went whizzing towards her head. She caught it just before it grazed the side of her cheek.

"Shit! Mako-chan!" gasped Shinozaki, still poised from throwing the dart.

They both stared at the pointed bolt clasped between her thumb and index finger, then back at each other.

"Damn, Mako-chan…Nice catch…"

"Didn't you say you were going to move your dartboard off the door?" she reprimanded.

"Didn't you say you were going to remember to start knocking?" he countered, "Plus, I did. It's on the wall now."

She turned around the doorframe and saw that he was right. The target was two feet to the left of the entrance. The wall itself was littered with holes. "Oh. Well, you have shitty aim, then." She entered and flopped down on his chair. "I'm sorry I didn't knock."

"I'm sorry I almost tossed a dart in your eye." He let out a frustrated sigh and slumped down on the bed. "I do have really shitty aim today."

Makoto frowned at his defeated posture and immediately regretted being so abrasive. "No big, I guess. I've got quick reflexes," she tried to brush off casually, "And it would have just clipped my cheek, if I didn't…"

"Oh well, that's something," he muttered unhappily. "Well enough about my terrible dart throwing skills, what brings you to my humble abode?"

"I dropped off some cookies I baked for your parents," explained Makoto, "Your dad's not home, but your mom said you were in your room being all moody and asked if I could cheer you up."

"I'm not being moody!" he huffed.

"Yeah, and I'm the freakin' Princess of the Moon," she remarked flatly.

There was a period of silence. He stared up at ceiling, pointedly ignoring her questioning gaze. It was how these things typically went. One of them would sulk alone and deny it, while the other would just be annoying until it stopped. She was on the annoying side this time.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong? Or do I have to beat it out of you?"

"I'm fine," he snapped, "And I'd like to see you try."

A stifled chuckle rumbled in her throat. It would have been one hell of a theoretical fight, but she knew he'd lose. He may have kept up with his judo, but she kept up with her giant bloodthirsty monster wrestling.

"I was kidding," she said through a laugh, "Come on, you know I can't go messing up that pretty boy face of yours. Mina-chan would have my head."

He winced.

She noticed.

"This isn't about Minako-chan, is it?"

Shinozaki's gaze softened, and he finally relented. "I think I screwed up with her."

She cocked her head curiously. She hadn't remembered Minako saying anything about him. "What makes you think so?"

"She seemed totally pissed off at me by the end of our last date," he clarified, "We did the skating thing. She fell a lot. Even after we gave up and left the rink, she was still pretty mad."

Makoto then recalled Minako's insistent outburst. Shinozaki wasn't being inaccurate. The blonde was mad, but it was more at the situation, at herself, at the skates and the ice and all the other inanimate objects that could possibly be blamed for getting in her way - not Shinozaki. But apparently, he didn't know that.

"Minako-chan can get like that sometimes," she tried to explain, "It's nothing personal. She's just never been one to accept defeat gracefully."

"Defeat?" he repeated in confusion, "But it wasn't a win/lose thing, though. We were just skating around."

Makoto sighed. "She wanted to be good at it. And when Mina-chan wants something, she can get a little…." She trailed off.

"A little what?" he prodded.

Obsessive. Unhinged. Driven. Ridiculous.

"….Preoccupied."

"Oh." The gears in his mind seemed to be turning at this revelation. He asked cautiously, "So, she was just sort of upset with herself for not doing well right off the bat?"

Makoto nodded. "Uh huh. So much so that she even made me take her skating the next day to 'prove' she could."

"Was she better?"

"Definitely," Makoto affirmed. She added with a chuckle, "And as soon as she was getting real good, she lost interest."

He stared at her unbelievingly. "Seriously? After all that? She just stopped caring?"

"Sometimes it's better not to ask questions when it comes to Minako-chan," she shrugged, "She's not the type to be figured out."

It was Shinozaki's turn to laugh. Makoto was relieved to see that his spirits had been lifted.

"You say that, but it seems like you've got her figured out pretty well," he noted.

"She can be predictable, yet unpredictable. I can't explain it."

"You're saying she a contradiction, then?"

"I'm saying that I've known her for years, and she still manages to surprise me."

"She-" He stopped. A puzzling look came onto his face. "Hmm...Surprise…" he muttered to himself.

"You're looking all broody again," she pointed out.

His mouth split into a smirk. "Not broody. Thinky. You've just given me an idea of how to make it up to her."

"Well? What is it?"

"Skating was a shitty idea on my part," he resolved, "I'm good at it and like it. So this time, we should go do something she likes. Like see a idol concert. Maybe I can surprise her with tickets to something."

"But you hate pop music," she reminded.

"I can deal. As long as she's happy."

Makoto's next snippy remark was left unsaid. She couldn't help, but agree with the logic completely.

"Hey, what's the name of three singer dudes you like?"

"What?"

"Those guys," he repeated vaguely, "They had that one song that played everywhere nonstop, and were in that stupid Sentai movie. You know, the ones that look like girls."

Surely he couldn't be talking about… "The Three Lights?"

"Yeah, them," he confirmed, "They playing anytime soon?"

She stared incredulously. Those 'three singer dudes that look like girls' helped save the world from total annihilation at the hands of the ultimate evil empress, and then flew back to their home planet with their magic princess. So, no. No, they were no longer playing.

"I don't think they perform anymore," she managed to say with at least half of a straight face.

"Alright. What about that Miku chick? She still a thing?"

"Shiratori Mikan," she corrected, "And how the heck do you know about her anyway?"

"I was reading one of your magazines at Minako-san's place. You left it next to a huge pile of your clothes. And by the way, what was up with that?"

"Ugh. Don't ask." Makoto sighed. "Anyways, yes. Mikan is still a big deal and she's on tour."

"Great. I'll take her to that, then!"

He went straight for his computer to buy tickets online. Makoto shrugged and began busying herself with the set of darts. She managed to land on the target each time with a satisfying amount of success.

"Show off," muttered Shinozaki briefly, before gluing his eyes back on his screen.

Makoto grinned and retrieved the set for another round.

"Got em!" he declared, fifteen minutes later. "I've got two tickets for Friday."

"Not a bad idea, she'll really like that," remarked Makoto, as she aimed her next dart. Her cellphone ringing in her pocket threw off her concentration and the projectile embedded itself into the wall. She growled in distaste. There went her streak.

"Lucky you, it's Minako-chan. I'll pass it over to you in a sec."

As soon as she answered, she was met with a piercing shriek.

"MAKO-CHAN! GUESS WHAT I GOT!"

Makoto held the receiver away from her pained ear. "Ugh, a megaphone?"

"A WHAT?" she heard Minako reply confusedly, "No silly! I got you and me two tickets to _Shiratori Freaking Mikan_!"

"You…you wha?"

"We're going this Friday!"

Makoto stared at her phone and then back at Shinozaki.

"Um…you're not gonna like this…"

* * *

It was supposed to be a date. He would surprise Minako with concert tickets, she would be all excited, he'd suffer through a ear ache, and then maybe his efforts would earn him enough brownie points for another kiss or two.

But apparently, he had used up all his luck on their first outing.

Minako had discovered that they had four tickets between them, and immediately invited another friend. If it was a guy for Makoto, he would have been at least able to pretend it was a double date. But it turned out to be their mutual girlfriend with the loud voice and even louder hairstyle.

"I'm so excited!" declared Usagi for the seventh time.

"Me too!" responded Minako for the eighth.

He muttered a sarcastic 'yay' under his breath. Makoto seemed to have heard this because she started chuckling uncontrollably. No amount of glaring was going to diminish her amusement at his torture.

"You're gonna enjoy every minute of this, aren't you?" he growled lowly at her.

"I've always wanted to see you at a pop concert, Shino-kun," she whispered back, "And this is going to be the loudest, cheesiest, flashiest one in the history of ridiculous music. Of course, I'm loving this."

She shot him that endearing, yet smug look that made him want to hug her and smack her at the same time.

"Shinozaki-san, this was such a great idea," remarked Usagi, "Thank you!"

Makoto snickered. "Oh yes, Shinozaki-kun's a _huge_ Mikan fan."

Usagi's eyes lit up at this. And before Shinozaki could get a word in, the odangoed blonde continued prattling excitedly. "You too? That's great! She went to my middle school, you know! I have all of her albums. Do you want to borrow any of them? One time, she held this star contest that I was going to enter, but my cat Luna was being all difficult and refused to keep the dress on…"

The ramblings came so quickly, he could barely comprehend what was going on.

"You know you're a lot taller up close, Shinozaki-san!" noted Usagi, suddenly close and appraising.

Makoto chose that moment to begin coughing loudly and yanking the blonde away.

"Usagi-chan, you've never met Shinozaki-kun before, remember?" she blurted out, looking suddenly anxious. Usagi looked poised to protest, but Makoto immediately suggested they get some snacks. Blue eyes lit up, and the tall brunette was dragged off towards concessions.

He smiled gratefully for Makoto's quick backup. Usagi was nice and all and pretty damn funny, but he had been hoping for at least a semblance of alone time with his sorta-date.

"Ooh, I'm coming too!" announced Minako obliviously, taking off after them.

Shinozaki sighed. Maybe they had beer at concessions. He was starting to get the feeling he might need it.

* * *

They pushed through the throng of the crowd, getting bumped here and there by the sheer number of people. Usagi was the first to almost get separated, but Makoto caught her by the wrist and pulled her back. The odangoed blonde linked arms with her tall friend after that, scared of being lost in the crowd.

"I've got you, Usagi-chan," assured Makoto, protectively shielding their princess from the masses.

Minako found herself almost slipping off and was pulled in by Shinozaki and Makoto at the same time.

"Let's stay together, you guys," said Usagi.

The sound went dead in Minako's ears, as Makoto laced their fingers together and tightened the grip. The brunette's touch was so warm, so strong, and yet so amazingly gentle.

There it was again. That electric sensation.

Her breath picked up. It was the damn skating rink all over again. Their fingers seemed to meld together so perfectly. Why the hell was that?

She felt a squeeze on her other hand, and the noise returned. She looked to her left and saw Shinozaki beaming down at her. Her left hand laid in his like a casual handshake. She shot him a faint smile before turning forward again.

In her peripheral vision, she saw their princess clinging closely to Makoto. Usagi didn't want to get lost in the crowd, and Makoto was watching over her. Minako knew that. But for some reason, she found herself intensely envious.

They finally made it through the bottleneck of people and into the stadium. The cheap section wasn't great by any means, but the large video screen and unnecessarily loud sound system would do their part to aid that.

"Thanks, Mako-chan," said Usagi, releasing her tight grip on Makoto's arm.

"No problem, Usagi-chan. Anything for you." She quickly amended, "Well, almost anything."

Minako released Makoto's hand grudgingly. Shinozaki held on to her left one without a word.

"There she is!" she heard Usagi cry.

An echo of a guitar pealed through the stadium. The lights moved in on the pop star, and Minako's breath hitched.

Her hero, Shiratori Mikan, in the flesh! Wow!

She looked to her left. Shinozaki was downing a beer. She looked to her right. Usagi was already on her feet, cheering. And Makoto…

Now wasn't the time for any of that! She quickly tore her eyes away and focused in on the stage.

After an explosion of sound from the band, Mikan started to sing amongst a throng of colorfully dressed backup dancers.

Thank goodness for flashy distractions.

* * *

It was a fantastic show. Mikan sure didn't hold back on the spectacle. There were complicated costume changes, elaborate lighting effects, and some killer dance routines. Her voice wasn't half bad either. Makoto was a fan. She wasn't a superfan like Usagi and Minako, but she had a great time. Especially, since Shinozaki was struggling to contain his misery. That was icing on the cake.

Usagi and Minako were still screaming their heads off, long after Mikan completed her last encore. Makoto took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the inevitable crowd shovings on their way out.

Usagi latched onto her arm when she was ready to go. Much to Makoto's surprise, Minako latched onto her other arm. Evidently, all four of them were going to plod through the masses with linked arms. Shinozaki shot a grin her way, apparently pleased with the development.

As they slowly proceeded, Makoto couldn't help, but wonder if Minako was leaning into her a bit more than necessary. She glanced over at her male buddy, who didn't seem to take notice of anything, so she shrugged it off and kept going.

They made it out of the hot arena and back into the streets when they all separated.

"What do you guys wanna do now?" asked Usagi.

"I don't know, I'm kinda tired. Can I walk you home, Minako-chan?" Shinozaki asked hopefully.

"No, that's okay, I'm doing fine," replied Minako, unaware of the hinting.

Makoto fought back the urge to face-palm. She tried to help Shinozaki out a bit. "Yeah, I'm a little tired myself. Aren't you, Usagi-chan?"

She threw an exaggerated wink Usagi's way, hoping that she wasn't being too obvious.

"Nah, I'm cool," waved off the blonde, "Hey, is your eye okay, Mako-chan? It's twitching or something."

Makoto sighed. "I'm fine. I was just thinking maybe I'd head back to my apartment for the night."

"Okay, we'll just go there, then!" proclaimed Minako.

"Yeah," Usagi agreed quickly, "We can pick up a bottle of wine and watch a movie. Great idea, Mako-chan!"

She caught Shinozaki briefly face-palming himself in the background.

_'You have no idea,' _she mouthed to him, shaking her head sympathetically.

"Alright, then," broke in Shinozaki, "In that case, let's make it two bottles, and I'll buy. What do you ladies drink?"

Usagi and Minako's eyes widened and they turned toward each other with huge grins.

Makoto cringed. This was going to be interesting...

* * *

Two drunk blondes flitted about Makoto's apartment, imitating the concert's dance moves, while loudly singing pop songs off key.

Shinozaki had tried a bit longer to steer Minako back towards a solo date, but threw in the towel once he found out how much of a lightweight she was. Makoto tried to warn him, but it had fallen on deaf ears.

Makoto admired his persistence, even though she knew it was a losing battle.

Minako was unpredictable enough as it was. Add a looser tongue, a lack of self control, and a hammered Usagi, and all bets were off. Minako was going to do whatever she felt like, and whatever she felt like was going to vary by the minute.

Shinozaki seemed to accept this, and was now drunkenly enjoying the Usagi and Minako show.

"Where'd Usagi-san get that rainbow clown wig, anyway?" he asked.

"Magic," slurred Makoto.

"Oh, she's a magician," he nodded, taking another swig of his beer, "I guess that explains some things."

Makoto burst out laughing and wondered for the millionth time how the two blondes always managed to get her into these situations. It was something about their big blue eyes. She couldn't say no to them.

"Are those your maracas, Mako-chan?" asked Shinozaki.

She blinked. Sure enough, Minako was jamming out with a pair of maracas, and Usagi was no where in sight.

"Magic," she said simply, "Don't question it."

She shrugged and took a big gulp of her beer, continuing her ongoing and unspoken drinking contest with Shinozaki. It always came down to a contest with them, whether or not it was announced out loud.

When Usagi returned from the bathroom with a sombrero, Makoto knew it was time to cut them off.

"Hey, aren't we gonna watch that movie?" she reminded.

"What movie?" answered Shinozaki.

She closed her eyes and tried to think, but her head was swimming. "You know, the one with the chick with the huge rack."

"Who? You?"

She reached over sloppily and smacked him. "Shaddap."

"Hey, do you guys wanna play Sailor Senshi racing instead?" asked Minako from her new position face down behind the couch.

Makoto and Shinozaki caught each other's narrowed eyes. It was only a matter of time before they were furiously racing Chibi Sailor Senshi on go-karts on the brunette's t.v. Yep, it was always a contest between the two of them.

"Go, Mako-chan!" cried Usagi, as the miniature Sailor Jupiter sped into the next lap. She had altered her Mexican pride flag to say _Viva La Mako_, and was waving it with much vigor.

Back on the television, the little Tuxedo Mask wasn't terribly far behind. He threw a rose ahead of him, which had a direct hit on the tiny Jupiter's go-kart tires. The tiny Sailor spun out briefly before regaining her traction. Her opponent took the lead.

Makoto scowled at Shinozaki's chuckling. "Whatever, Tuxy. I'll catch up."

As soon as her racer hit a power up block, Makoto released a bolt of lightning directly onto Tuxedo Mask's go-kart. Sailor Jupiter sped by, as the poor little guy spun out at the side of the track.

Her triumphant lead became short-lived, when she ran over a thorny rose trap that Shinozaki had earlier left behind. He caught up, and they were neck in neck, heading towards the finish line.

Minako's head popped up from the back of the couch. "Winner gets a kiss!" she declared impulsively.

"Huh?" Both Shinozaki and Makoto turned their heads toward the blonde at the same time. Both of their characters crossed the finish line without them looking. They heard the victory music, but wait, who won?

The instant replay showed Sailor Jupiter crossing the finish line a split second before Tuxedo Mask. It was practically a tie, but the video game proclaimed Makoto the winner.

Minako rose drunkenly and planted a languid kiss on Makoto's lips. She flopped onto the couch between the two and giggled incessantly. Usagi joined in the laughter, as if it was infectious.

"Man, I almost got a kiss," mumbled Shinozaki dejectedly.

"Oh, don't give me that puppy dog face," slurred Minako. She pecked him on the lips and yanked the controller from his hands.

Usagi took the other from Makoto. Seconds later, mini Sailor Venus and mini Sailor Moon were throwing beams of light at each other's go-karts. Shinozaki watched the race with a huge grin, pleased that he got a kiss anyway.

Everyone was too drunk to take notice of Makoto's shellshocked face.

* * *

"Augh, my head," muttered Makoto the next morning. She opened her eyes carefully against the bright light of day. She tried to turn away from it, but an arm draped over her midsection prevented her from moving. The obstacle moaned softly.

Makoto jumped in surprise. Her sudden movement stirred the figure under the blanket. A feminine sigh escaped it.

"M-Minako-chan?"

She lifted the blanket cautiously and sure enough, she spotted the sleeping blonde clinging to her side. She tried to piece together the remainder of the night.

They played more Sailor Senshi Racing, until Usagi passed out on the chair. Minako was the next to fall asleep on the couch. Makoto transferred Usagi into a sleeping futon and gave one to Shinozaki as well, who was admittedly too drunk to drive home. Then, she managed to slink into her own bed.

She remembered leaving Minako on the couch. So, when the hell did the blonde get in her bed?

_'Ugh. Whatever.'_

It was fine. They had shared a bed plenty of times. Although, she never woke up to her friend latching on to her like that. Makoto tried to quietly slip out of the bed, but Minako squeezed more tightly.

_'Oh god, she thinks I'm a teddy bear.'_

The brunette took hold of the blonde's dainty wrist and tried to lift her arm up slowly. Minako stirred again, but this time buried her face against Makoto's shoulder. Sleeping Minako was apparently as aggressive than drunken Minako. And the more Makoto tried to escape, the deeper she got.

Apparently, she had to use a more direct approach. Makoto started to lightly shake her captor's shoulder.

"Hey, Mina-chan," she prodded, "Get off of me, will ya? I wanna get up."

"No," protested the blonde sleepily, "Don't go. You're so warm..."

Makoto frowned. She shook a bit harder.

"You can go back to sleep, but I'm getting up now whether you like it or not." Makoto sat up in the bed more deliberately and removed the offending limbs with slightly more force.

Minako growled irritably, but rolled over and surrendered back to sleep within a matter of seconds.

Makoto stumbled a bit when her feet hit the ground, but she caught herself on the bedpost. A glance at the clock put them past noon. She didn't hear any stirrings from the living room, so she must have been the first one up. She stepped out of her room, and it was confirmed, Usagi and Shinozaki were still soundly passed out on the floor.

Makoto idly considered crawling back into bed with Minako, but didn't want Shinozaki to find them like that. Regardless of how she explained it, she knew he'd get all jealous and pouty. Plus, it was noon already. She would have been up hours ago on any other day. In spite of her desire to just give up and go back to sleep, she started on breakfast. Or lunch, depending on how they looked at it.

The rest of the gang woke up both to the smell of Makoto's cooking and to the feelings of their own separate hangovers. They ate slowly and quietly, not wanting to expend too much precious energy on talking.

Usagi was the first to excuse herself. "I have a date with Mamo-chan later," she mumbled listlessly, "I'm just gonna go over to his place and sleep until dinner."

Shinozaki was supposed to go with his father somewhere, so he too had to duck out after eating. He stumbled over to Minako and kissed her goodbye.

"I'll call you later, babe," he said to the blonde. She nodded tiredly and let her head slump down onto the countertop.

He turned to his best friend. "My dad says hello and thanks for the cookies, Mako-chan."

She smiled weakly, "Tell him it's my pleasure. See you soon."

The door closed, leaving just Minako, who didn't seem to be raring to go. "Well, do you have a shoot or something today?" Makoto asked with a yawn.

"Nope," she murmured into the counter.

Makoto began putting away the plates. "You wanna do something?"

"Can we just go back to bed and talk about it later?" asked Minako, massaging her throbbing temples.

After all her effort to get out of bed, Minako was still trying to drag her back in. Makoto shrugged. "Eh, why the hell not."

* * *

Makoto was woken up later by the incessant ringing of Minako's phone. Much to her surprise, she was still being treated like a giant teddy bear when she tried to move. She had assumed the embrace to be a byproduct of Minako drunkenly crawling into her bed the night before. But here she was again, trapped by a sleeping blonde with an iron grip.

The ringing eventually ceased, and a text message tone followed. Makoto released a deep sigh of relief. Minako always managed to choose the most grating ringtones. It was a wonder that the blonde managed to sleep through them. She glanced at her nightstand clock. They had been napping for almost three hours.

She thought twice about getting up this time, lest Minako's grip get tighter. Might as well let her be for now. Makoto relaxed and glanced out the open bedroom door. The living room was a mess. There were empty bottles strewn all over the place. And snack wrappers. And Usagi's Disguise Pen props. Weren't those supposed to disappear at some point?

She turned her head away in disgust. Minako stirred from the movement and snuggled up closer. Makoto let out a defeated sigh and found herself idly wondering what kind of shampoo the blonde was using. Whatever it was, it made her hair smell really nice. She hadn't noticed it before, but then again, Minako was being a lot more up close and personal lately.

And that kiss the night before... That was unexpected. Minako kissed her all the time, but only on the cheek. And usually as a good bye. Never on the lips like that. And certainly not that long. They all must have been exceptionally drunk.

It was sorta nice though, she had to admit. It had been a long time since she had been kissed. It had been almost a year since her last boyfriend, so she had almost forgotten what it felt like. Was it always like that? Or was Minako just a really good kisser?

She pressed her fingers to her mouth and tried to recall the sensation of Minako's lips.

_Damn._ Shinozaki was lucky. _That asshole._

"Mako-chan…" mumbled the sleeping beauty.

"What?" she responded.

There was no answer, just Minako squirming closer into her side. The blonde squeezed and squeezed tightly.

_'Oh great, now we're practically spooning.' _

It wasn't typical of Minako to be so needy in her sleep. Makoto held her sometimes when she cried, sure. But while she slept was certainly new.

It was like Minako was unconsciously seeking comfort. But from what? Everything was fine.

Wasn't it?

* * *

End Notes:

Admit it, you want to play Mario Kart with Sailor Senshi characters as much as I do. The attacks and traps would be so friggin amazing.

Till next time, friends.

Next Chapter:

Rei is asked to perform an exorcism.

* * *

To Last Week's Reviewers:

ishi28:

Yeah, it's been a little while since I've seen a new Mako/Mina fic. It's not a huge ship sure, but come on people. They're hilarious and there's so much potential. They both love so hard and in different ways.

Rei's coming into the picture next week and it may be my favorite scene in the whole fic.

**KIND OF SPOILER THAT PEOPLE MAY NOT WANT?**

No, the Outers don't have a planned appearance in this one. But at this point, that could still change. If I can come up with a place for them to show up that makes sense, I'll give it a whirl. But I just dislike the trope of having Haruka and Michiru be the knowledgeable lesbians whose only purpose is to give the girls love advice before the big confession scene. I'm adamantly avoiding that one.

Anyways, glad you're digging it. Hope you like the rest! Thank you!

….

Ollsibub:

Sometimes I think that any of the Inner Senshi can be paired off, if you try hard enough. They've each got great qualities to latch onto that can be really attractive. And of course, it's always an interesting study to see what comes out of their negative qualities. I think that's what draws me to Senshi pairings. Each girl brings out something unique in the other.

Mako and Mina have always been a pairing I've been fond of. They get into a couple major fights in the series, but they always come out with a stronger bond and understanding.

When we see them in this story, they've already passed those hurdles and just know and accept how the other one is sometimes. The next hurdle is how to strike up an attraction, which is...pretty much what this whole story is.

…

James Birdsong:

Welcome to the fluff, James. It's here to stay and will be tag teaming with the shenanigans and stupid prop comedy.

…

Anon:

Hi Anon friend! You know, I was wondering if anyone else was sticking around from the last one. This thing is kinda different from my first fic, so I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Thanks for dropping a line, I appreciate it!

…

Vchanny:

Sure, you and I would be grossed out by egg slime, but Minako's been covered in worse youma guts I'm sure, plus Aino Minako never backs down from a challenge! Well, almost never.

Actually the way I had written it originally didn't include the food fight. But the idea of Mako and Mina wrestling on the kitchen floor was a bit too funny to pass up, eggs or no eggs.

Hope Usagi's Disguise Pen tribute to Mexico was drunk enough for you haha.


	7. Chapter Six - The Fangirl

Finding Someone Like You

Chapter Six - The Fangirl

_In which Rei has an unexpected guest. _

continue.

* * *

Minako opened her eyes slowly, a lazy yawn breaking from her throat. She couldn't remember the last time she slept so well. The bed was deliciously warm. And the pillows were arranged so perfectly around her. The way they breathed made the experience so comfortable and inviting.

_'Wait, pillows don't breathe,' _she realized. They didn't wrap their arms around her either.

"Mako-chan?" she realized, as she lifted her head. Sure enough, the brunette from that inexplicably wonderful and hazy dream she had been having was snoring lightly underneath her.

A blush swept across her cheek. How long were they sleeping like this together? And did Makoto know?

She exhaled slowly, marveling at the sight of the woman beneath her. So close. So intimate. She could hear faint, relaxed breaths escaping past those soft pink lips. Those lips...Panicked ocean eyes widened in remembrance.

_'Oh, shit! I totally kissed her last night!'_

She sprung back, and a long arm fell off her bare skin, leaving it exposed to the cold. She held back a yelp, as the slumbering amazon began to rouse.

"H-hey, Mako-chan. Morning. Or Afternoon." Her eye darted to the clock. "Evening, I mean.

Makoto smiled sleepily. "Yeah, you too." She shifted, so that she was sitting up in bed. "Guess I fell asleep again. Whoops."

"Again? You mean you woke up earlier?" Makoto must have known that Minako was holding on to her, then. She didn't seem to mind, though.

"Yeah, your phone was ringing," yawned the brunette, "It woke me up for a bit, but looks like I managed to pass out again."

Makoto lifted her arms high above her head, stretching lazily. Her tight gray tank top rode up, exposing the skin at her waist. Wide eyes trailed from a hardened stomach, upwards as her back arched and tightened, sending an ample chest outwards. Arms lowered and hands ran in a practiced motion through tousled chestnut tresses. The silken locks that had been splayed invitingly across her front were swept into their characteristic ponytail. And it was at that moment, the blonde realized that the suddenly beguiling creature before her hadn't been wearing a bra this entire time.

"I've gotta go!" Minako blurted out, voice cracking.

"Everything alright?"

Her jaw felt absurdly heavy and impossible to close. The whole room was preposterously hot and stifling. She was feeling fiercely jealous of a stupid gray tank top of all things. No. No, things weren't alright.

"I just gotta get outta here…to…feed Artemis…with cat food…" she sputtered lamely.

The brunette simply laughed. "Sheesh, if he's been waiting on you this long, he's probably super pissed off. You'd better get goin!"

Minako nodded vehemently, even though Artemis knew damn well how to feed himself. He was a magic cat. If he could talk, he could let himself into a bag of kitty chow. Or at least go over to Luna's. But Makoto didn't have to know that.

"That was pretty nice," smiled Makoto, "We should do it again sometime."

The blonde tumbled gracelessly from the bed. "We _what_?"

"We should do this again," repeated Makoto, "Maybe next time invite Rei-chan and see how that works out."

"Rei-chan?!" choked Minako.

"Oh come on, Shinozaki-kun can handle Rei-chan. He made it safely through Usagi-chan's musical tribute to Mexico, after all."

Minako took in a deep breath, trying to calm her racing nerves. "Oh. You mean going out. With friends." Not the half day cuddling session without a bra on part.

"Yeah, what'd you think I meant?"

"Nothing!" she squealed, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Mako-chan!"

She tried rushing for the door, but slipped on an empty bottle and went tumbling into a pile of hats in the hallway. She groaned and swatted a cowboy hat away from her eyes.

"The hell?" She heard footsteps approach. "How many friggin hats did Usagi-chan conjure last night?"

Minako felt herself lifted up by strong arms and onto her feet. She looked up her friend and was met with an amused twinkle in those rich verdant eyes.

"There you go," declared the comforting voice, "Safe and sound."

The blonde tensed. They were in that enticingly close proximity that she had been so clumsily trying to escape.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you something."

The air was suddenly getting thicker and harder to breathe. "Yes, Mako-chan?"

Minako's heartbeat quickened, as Makoto leaned in closer.

"Your hair smells nice."

Minako stumbled back. "Huh?"

"What shampoo are you using? I think I wanna try it."

Minako blinked. "N-Natural Apricot. I get it from the Akayashi Sisters."

"Crap, I totally forgot they sell that stuff. I gotta give Petz a call."

"Yeah…I gotta…cat food," Minako mumbled hazily.

"Right! Sorry to keep you. You can totally blame me when Artemis bitches you out."

Makoto strode over to the coffee table to help gather her things. Minako was handed her cellphone. One missed call from Shinozaki. And a text asking if she wanted to go get dinner with him. She ignored it and tossed the phone into her purse. She didn't have the brain capacity to make those kinds of decisions right now.

Thankfully, she wasn't expected to do anything more than walk out the door. Makoto smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek to send her on her way.

"I'm gonna take a shower. Call me later if you wanna do anything."

Minako groaned and nodded. Now why the hell did Makoto have to say _that_?

She tried to walk casually out the door, though she felt like running as fast as she could.

* * *

Rei couldn't believe it. She loved _who_?

"Wow, I never saw that one coming," mumbled the shrine maiden to herself.

She was about to turn the page of her manga, when a haphazard blonde came barreling into her room.

"Rei-chan! I need your help!"

_'This better be good,'_ thought the raven haired woman, as she warily set her book down. Things were definitely getting heated. Suddenly, the story's heroine realized her feelings for her best friend. Rei had surely thought that she would end up with the handsome stranger.

"What's the matter?"

"I think I'm possessed!" declared the blonde dramatically.

Rei jumped. Was there a new threat targeting Senshi? "Possessed?"

"Yes! By some sort of spirit of 'making Minako do weird things'...um...spirit..." she trailed off for a second. She rapidly shook her head and continued with much fervor. "Get out your spooky shrine gear! You need to exercise me!"

"Exercise you..." Rei repeated incredulously. Her face went deadpan. She had almost forgotten who she was talking to. No spirit in its right mind would even bother with Minako. She would drive them insane sooner than they would to her. The blonde didn't need any more help being nuts.

Rei rubbed the throbbing vein on her left temple. "I'm not performing an exorcism, if that's what you're trying to get at."

"But I'm going crazy!"

"You're already crazy!"

"Reei-chaaaaan!" whined Minako.

The shrine maiden put her index finger on her friends mouth. "Mina-chan, just stop for a second." She waited until blonde was calmed down slightly. "Alright. Now instead of jumping to conclusions about spirits, just tell me what you've been doing that's got you all riled up."

The firebrand took a few cleansing breaths. Her doctor friend had been coaching her in trying to keep her temper in check. It was always 'your blood pressure this' or 'stress will give you ulcers that.' She channeled the memory of Ami's long winded health monologue/lecture and managed to still.

"It's Mako-chan. Every time I'm around her lately, I feel weird. it's like sometimes when I'm looking at her, I feel hot and cold at the same time. And when I touch her, it gets worse, like my skin is tingling all over. Sounds like spirits!"

Rei sighed heavily. What the hell did any of that have to do with spirits? "You think that you're possessed because you can't regulate your own body temperature? You idiot, you're probably just getting sick."

"It's more than that," insisted Minako, "Weird stuff, I tell you!"

Her interest was fading fast. "Like what?"

"I kissed her last night!"

Rei rolled her eyes and snatched up her manga. "You kiss her all the time."

"Not on the lips and never with that much tongue!"

The book slipped from her grasp. She looked up at Minako's crazy eyed expression. "You tongue kissed Mako-chan last night?!"

"It's a spirit. Or a lust demon." Minako grabbed Rei by the collar and started shaking the poor shrine maiden desperately. "Do something, Rei-chan! I think I'm attracted to Mako-chan!"

Still shellshocked, she could only exclaim, "Well, what the hell do you want me to do about it?!"

"I told you! Exercise!"

"Mina-chan! Dammit, stop shaking me!"

The agitation sputtered to a halt.

"Okay, good. Now, let go of me."

The desperate grip slowly released.

Rei took more of those cleansing breaths. Whether or not they were helping, she couldn't tell at the moment.

"Minako-chan, there aren't any demons or spirits," she said slowly, "I need you to understand that I can't exorcise any feelings you might have for Mako-chan."

She waited, hoping that this fact would sink in, and Minako would go be crazy at someone else.

"Feelings for Mako-chan?" whimpered Minako.

Rei nodded cautiously. She half expected Minako to start shaking her again, but the blonde seemed too stunned to do anything, but stare.

"You're right, aren't you?" whispered Minako, "It's a crush. I have a crush on Mako-chan."

"What on Earth made you kiss Mako-chan in the first place?"

"I don't know!" she sputtered, "W-we were drunk…and there was racing, and she won the Crystal Cup…and…I just couldn't help myself!"

"You were just drunk? Goddammit, Mina-chan. Quit freaking out, you and Usagi do stupid crap all the time when you're drunk."

"Watermelon Golf is hardly the same thing as frenching Mako-chan!" she argued.

"Yeah, Watermelon Golf was harder to clean up." Rei's face scrunched up and she added, "Or at least I hope it was…"

Minako bristled. "Rei-chan! I'm being serious!"

"Okay, okay!" relented the shrine maiden, "Gimme a break, sometimes it's hard to tell."

The blonde started pacing in front of her. It seemed that her impulsive friend _was_ actually serious.

"Just keep calm and start from the beginning," pleaded Rei, hoping for an explanation that could make this whole situation seem any less ridiculous, "Where do you think this started?"

"At Usagi-chan's Mexican pride thing," said Minako quickly, "No, it was probably before that. The accidental concert? But there was the ice rink debacle. Or was it the outfit parade? Shoot, could it have been closer to the towel incident…?"

"Mina-chan!" interrupted Rei, "As usual, I have no idea what the hell you're talking about. I said,_ from the beginning_."

"The beginning," repeated Minako.

"Yes!" shouted Rei impatiently.

"Okay, okay!" waved off the blonde, "You know, Ami-chan is right, you really need to learn to take some cleansing breaths."

"Minako-chan…" came the low warning.

"I know!" Minako suddenly declared, "It started after my last breakup."

"But that was like two weeks ago!"

"None of this occurred to me at the time."

"Ugh, fine. Start there. You broke up with Neck Model. Then what?"

"_Necktie_ Model. His name was Yoichi-kun."

"Whatever. I can't keep track of your stupid boyfriends sometimes. All I remember was that he was an idiot."

"Yeah, he kinda was..."

* * *

Minako was glad she came to the shrine. She required Rei's particular brand of brash truth, and they both knew it.

Ami was good for analyses. She liked to talk to Ami when it came to her practical problems. Career advice, financial tips, random medical concerns - she could always trust Ami to tell her the smartest solution, when one could be found.

Makoto was good at picking her up when she felt like dirt. Whether it was another petty dispute amongst models or a sleazy boyfriend making her feel like less of a person - Mako would be there with just the right thing to make her feel special and worthwhile.

Usagi was good for helping her forget her worries. If she needed to just let things go and have some fun, Usagi was her girl. She understood exactly when to smile, when to push, and when to distract.

But Rei…She was the heavy slap of reality that she sometimes needed. Whenever Minako felt like she was flailing and didn't know how to get back down to the ground - there was Rei, telling her how ridiculous she was being.

Thank goodness for Rei.

Minako spilled everything completely, with as much honesty as she could muster. From the Makoto Scale to the Half-Day Cuddling Session, Minako recited every moment where something felt even remotely different between the two of them.

Her eyes unfocused, as she tried to recall the feeling of the fighter's lips against her own. "I kissed Shinozaki-kun a couple times that night. But it wasn't the same. When I kissed Mako-chan. it's like there was a spark. I've never felt like that before."

She found herself crushingly disappointed. It might have been the best kiss of her life, but she was too drunk to enjoy it and recall it properly.

"I think I might be in love with her, Rei-chan."

"Hold on," said Rei, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Okay, so you're definitely attracted to her. And judging by the gross amount of detail you've put into describing Mako-chan's talent-rack, you're probably in lust with her. But, love? Are you sure it's love?"

"No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know! It's Mako-chan!" Minako exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air defeatedly. "She's my best friend. I'm not supposed to feel this way about her. But...I do. Maybe it's not love, but it's something!"

"I'm not denying that there's something there. I'm just saying that you shouldn't jump to conclusions, especially over something like this."

"Who said I'm jumping to conclusions?"

"You burst into my room demanding I exorcise your spirits!"

Damn, Rei had a point. She both loved and hated it. "Okay, fine. That part may have been a bit of a stretch."

"Mina-chan, I have to ask, do you think she feels anything for you?"

Minako paused, searching her memories. Everything from Makoto's end seemed the same as ever. "No, I don't think she does. She's been trying so hard to get me to like Shinozaki-kun."

"And do you?"

"Sure, I like him. He's really nice. He's loyal and kind, willing to fight for me, giving, genuine…"

"So is Mako-chan," added Rei simply.

"They can be so similar sometimes," Minako sighed, "It's actually uncanny."

"Then, why not just go with this guy? What's missing?"

"The spark." She felt guilty for admitting it, but the side by side comparisons of Shinozaki and Makoto weren't helping the poor guy's case. He was everything she thought she wanted. But now all she wanted was to taste that spark on Makoto's lips once again.

It was painfully unfair. He was the best serious boyfriend candidate she had in years. Her brain screamed 'hooray', but her heart decided to be hung up on his best friend that wasn't interested in her.

Minako flopped backwards onto the shrine maiden's bed and stared at the ceiling. "What do I do?"

"I honestly don't know, Mina-chan," sighed Rei.

"You sure you can't just exercise me?"

"Pfft, I would have slapped an ofuda on you years ago, if I thought it would have made any difference in your crazy."

Minako gave her a weak smile. "Thanks for that, Rei-chan."

* * *

Minako took a deep breath. She stood in front of Makoto's door, as she had a thousand times before. All she needed to do was knock. It was simple. She did it all time. But this time felt different. An anxious hand was frozen in place, poised to knock, but refusing to extend forward.

"It's fine. Everything's fine, it's just Mako-chan's apartment," she muttered to herself.

It was still the same old Mako. The same old, stunningly beautiful, suddenly enamoring Mako.

She scowled. Stupid brain.

She took another breath and let off a few musical taps on the wooden door. Funny. The song she knocked kind of reminded her of-

The door flung open almost instantly, startling Minako out of her reverie. Before her stood Shinozaki, who seemed surprised, but delighted to see her.

"Hi, Minako-chan!" he grinned jovially.

Neither of them noticed, but Minako's posture deflated slightly. "Oh hey, Shinozaki-kun. What are you doing here?"

"Mako-chan and I were going to shoot some hoops. She's just changing right now."

Minako took notice of Shinozaki's loose fitting jersey and basketball shorts. Apparently, she came at the wrong time.

"Good timing!" he remarked, ushering her inside. "A couple more minutes and you might have missed us."

"Yeah," she heard herself say blandly. She winced and adopted more aggressively cheerful tone, "Good timing alright!"

Makoto entered the room clad in her own basketball uniform. "Hey, Mina-chan!"

"Hi, Mako-chan," smiled Minako genuinely, "I just wanted to see what you were up to. But it looks like you're busy. I guess I'll try and catch you later."

"Busy?" Shinozaki jumped in, "We're not busy at all! You don't need to leave."

"I thought you guys were going to play basketball."

"We are, but you're always welcome to come along, if you don't think it would be too boring," offered Makoto.

"Yeah, you should come with us!" said Shinozaki eagerly. "Great idea, Mako-chan!"

Minako looked at the pair of brown haired athletes. Shinozaki was giving her that hopeful puppy dog face. She knew that look. Usagi often used that look on her, so she knew how to resist it when she needed to.

But then she caught Makoto's encouraging smile. "If you guys don't mind," she breathed. How could she say no to those rich green eyes?

"Not at all!" insisted Shinozaki, grabbing her by the hand, "Come on, you can watch me demolish Mako-chan in basketball again!"

"Demolish? Hardly," scoffed Makoto. She whispered loudly in Minako's ear, "He couldn't demolish a sandcastle with a bulldozer."

Minako giggled. She had been hoping for some alone time, but this would do.

* * *

The ball cleared the net with a satisfying swoosh, and Makoto gave a short victory leap. It earned both a dissatisfied grunt from her opponent and an enthusiastic shout from the bleachers. She retrieved the basketball and tossed it back to Shinozaki with a saucy wink.

Her sympathetic side kept telling her that she should be playing less aggressively. It was obvious that Shinozaki wanted to impress Minako, and it would have been nice of her to let him win.

But her competitive side wasn't feeling particularly generous that day. She might have let a couple shots slip here and there, but there was a wager involved. Plus, her ego still stung from the last time she lost one of their bets. She wasn't going to let him slip past this time.

She rushed at him, swatting the ball from his grip.

"Go, Mako-chan!" called the excited blonde from the stands, as she took off.

A layup sent the ball crashing against the backboard and into the net.

"I believe that's makes the score Eight to Six?" Makoto recited smugly.

"Just gimme the ball," barked Shinozaki in displeasure.

Makoto chuckled, relishing in her impending win. Shinozaki's game was off that day. And hers was definitely on. She attributed both to Minako's presence. It helped to have a fangirl in the crowd.

Oh, Minako was fangirling. Hard.

The blonde didn't really know what was going to happen at Makoto's apartment when she arrived. But she was pleased with the outcome so far. She had been suddenly handed the opportunity to openly ogle the brunette's assets. And she was enjoying it fully.

Minako was growing particularly fond of the way those shorts hiked up Makoto's thighs when she moved just right.

_"You have to make absolutely sure that you're serious about this,"_ she heard Rei's voice echo in her mind.

A bead of sweat trickled down the brunette's tanned neck, drawing Minako's eye down towards a heaving chest. She released a deep, shaky breath and wiped the drool from the side of her mouth. If it wasn't lust before, it sure was now.

"Did you see _that_ one, Minako-chan?" called Shinozaki.

Minako blinked. Judging by Makoto's eyeroll, she assumed Shinozaki had scored a point. It was probably true, because seemed pretty pleased. She threw him a smile and a wave. The duo continued their game, and she continued her unapologetic staring.

She sat there, pondering if she could get away with the whole 'winner gets a kiss' thing again. Inevitably, she had to decide against it. It made more sense when they were all drunk. Well, not really. It actually didn't make much sense anyway, but she knew she _definitely_ couldn't get away with it sober. How disappointing.

While Minako debated the pros and cons of making a move, Makoto made a few moves of her own. Shinozaki leapt and released the ball, only to have the shot knocked off course by a long, sweeping arm. They both rushed towards the loose ball, but it was Makoto who claimed it first. She pivoted on her heel and released her own jump shot. The three watched Shinozaki's defeat sink through the basket.

Minako rushed over to the pair. "Way to win, Mako-chan!" She gave the brunette a congratulatory peck on the cheek. She took note of how Makoto's face flushed. If she was lucky, it wasn't just the exertion talking.

"Good game, Shinozaki-kun!" grinned Makoto, "It's about time I wiped that smirk off your face!"

Shinozaki released a heavy sigh. "Yeah, good game, Mako-chan," he muttered unenthusiastically, "Well, I'll go get the money I owe you, then head home."

Makoto turned to Minako. "You wanna grab some dinner? I've been wanting to try out this fancy-schmancy new place downtown for a while. My triumphant return to basketball victory seems like a fitting excuse. How about it? My treat."

Minako almost leapt with joy. Dinner alone with Makoto at a nice restaurant? This was getting better and better. "Yeah, that sounds great."

"We'll just have to head back to my place. I've gotta shower real quick."

Shinozaki returned from retrieving his gym bag and handed the winner a generous stack of bills. Makoto accepted them with an unabashedly satisfied smile.

"Say, Minako-chan, do you wanna get together later this week?" he asked, as Makoto happily sifted through his cash.

"Uh, I'm not exactly sure what my schedule is yet. Can I get back to you?"

"Of course," he smiled faintly, "I'll just call you tomorrow, how about that?"

"Sounds great," she tried to say enthusiastically.

"See you soon." Shinozaki planted a brief kiss on her lips. She had to admit he wasn't that bad of a kisser. But it only served to remind her of...

"Catch you later, buddy!" grinned Makoto, swinging her arm around Minako's shoulder suddenly.

He rolled his eyes and departed with a final wave. Once his fleeting figure was out of hearing distance, Makoto released the blonde with a hearty laugh.

"Haha, I knew that would piss him off!" she chuckled, as she pocketed her winnings.

The blonde inhaled sharply, still somewhat stunned from the movement. "What's that?"

"Oh, sorry. I guess I should explain!" Makoto slung her gym bag over her shoulder. "Shinozaki-kun and I had a bet going over the game. At first, it was some over pocket money. But, I decided later it would be much more satisfying to have him to mop my kitchen in a pink nightgown. He said, if that was my choice, he wanted to double the cash. So, I turned it into double the money _and _the nightgown. Then he said, enough money for that new expensive restaurant, and I would leave you two alone for a date. At that point, I tried, winner takes you out, and loser pays. I figured that would rile him up a bit. And it worked, haha!"

"So, you only want to go with me to make him mad?" she said in quiet disappointment.

The laughter died in Makoto's throat, and Minako immediately wished she hadn't said that out loud.

"Of course not." The brunette frowned and scratched the back of her head. "I just had a feeling you'd really like the place. I figured, I can get Shinozaki-kun to clean my apartment in a silly outfit another time. This way you could go no matter who won the game. But If you don't actually want to..."

"No, I do!" she insisted, turning her head down in embarrassment. "I just…you know what, never mind."

Makoto stopped in her tracks. She leaned in and tipped Minako's chin to meet her eye. "You sure? Is everything okay?"

Vulnerable ocean eyes met steadfast green. And every instinct she had involved drawing the woman in closer. One small touch. One lingering stare. That was all it took for Minako to feel so incredible and new.

"Everything's fine, Mako-chan," she breathed, lost in the entrancing haze that was the fighter's smile.

"Good," nodded the brunette, breaking away. She reached for her top and started shaking the fabric in and out, in an attempt to cool off. "Damn, it's hot out here. I can't wait to get outta these sweaty clothes!"

Minako almost tripped. This woman was going to be the death of her. And her pounding heart didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

* * *

End Notes:

Sorry about being a week late on this chapter. I say, "Oh, the whole story is all done and I'll just post it every Monday and it's that easy!" But it's actually not finished in the slightest. The plot is there, the dialogue is generally the same, but goddamn this is way different the first draft. So it's been taking some more time than I expected.

Admittedly though, its not so much the revision process that screwed up this chapter. It's the work/friends/family/life thing in combination with lazy procrastination. Mostly the latter.

To make up for it, here's two chapters (one for this week and one for last) plus the first of a series of one shots related to "What We've Lost and What We've Gained" Universe or the "Gainverse" as I'm calling it. It's a simple and hopefully cute Inners short, and reading of the last fic is unrequired for this one (except know that Mako and Rei are in a relationship).

Okay, enough chatter, the next thing is next.


	8. Chapter Seven - The Album

Finding Someone Like You

Chapter Seven - The Album

_In which Minako decides what she wants._

continue.

* * *

She needed to keep busy while Makoto was showering, lest she think too hard about Makoto showering. Minako putzed around the apartment, glancing appraisingly at the brunette's belongings.

Her eyes trailed the book shelf, chalk full of cookbooks, worn romance novels, and photo albums. It was still a wonder that, in this day and age of digital photos and the internet, Makoto still made the extra effort to get her pictures printed. She withdrew one of the albums labeled, "The Girls."

She fondly flipped through the pages that chronicled their lives together. Round faced, bright eyed middle schoolers grinned up at her in their school uniforms. She didn't feel like she changed that much, but the adolescent features of her trusted companions were speaking volumes of how they'd all aged. Even Usagi, who one could argue hadn't matured that much, had a more developed, adult look about her, that contrasted so significantly with the innocent, childlike faces in the snapshots.

It was hard to believe that they could all look so carefree, especially when faced with so much evil and terror at that age.

She and her friends grew older, as she turned each page. The bodies filled out, faces became more sharp, and their smiling eyes carried more and more of the richness of their time together. The album ended shortly after their senior year, when they all started facing themselves toward adulthood. Back when they had to start finding the answers of what they wanted to do, who they wanted to be, where they wanted to go in life.

There were more albums of the Senshi to peruse, but as she reshelved their schooldays, a faded spine labeled, 'Kino' caught her eye. She reached out for it and realized it was the only one Makoto had of her family.

She had never seen it before. The Makoto she knew from the other albums was one she knew with confidence. They had been best friends for years, and she practically knew everything about her friends from the time they met and onward. But she knew very little about Child Makoto. She cracked the book open, ready to discover her new facets of her friend's old life.

There were so many photos of a smiling pair of adults. She could only assume them to be Makoto's parents. It was so strange, putting faces to names. Actually, she didn't even know their names. But Makoto did. They raised her. She was part of them and they were a part of her. Minako would never get to meet them, to say hello, or tell them what a wonderful person their daughter had become. It was enough to break her heart again and again.

She studied page after page of a tall, gaunt man with serious green eyes and short cropped black hair. What was he like? Was he as imposing as the pictures made him seem? He couldn't have possibly been, as almost every photo had a happy, joyful looking brunette by his side. She had Makoto's smile. Or rather, Makoto had hers. Her dear friend had her father's striking eyes, and her mother's beautiful crown of chestnut locks.

Amongst their photos, was a chronicle of Makoto's growth. A baby with a ruddy, tear streaked face. A curious toddler playing with an oversized red ball. An adventurous looking child on a pink tricycle. Minako watched the brunette grow into a young preteen with her parents. And then they were gone.

The photos with them stopped. By Makoto's side was now a young Shinozaki and his parents. The two were seen together clad in their karate uniforms. At a birthday party. At the park.

"Ugh, I can't believe I liked that shirt so much," said Makoto from behind the sofa.

Minako turned to find the brunette peering over her shoulder at the picture of her twelfth birthday.

"Mako-chan!" she yelped, as she realized the woman was clad in only a towel.

Makoto rolled her eyes. "Oh calm down, I don't mind you looking."

"You wha?" mumbled Minako.

"Some of the pictures are embarrassing sure, but I don't mind."

Minako coughed. Right. Photos, not towels. She really needed to get her mind out of the gutter.

Makoto reached over and turned the page, her fresh, clean arm brushing against Minako's. The blonde inhaled the crisp scent of a familiar apricot shampoo, and wished that she could draw the woman in closer.

"Haha, Shinozaki-kun's braces. I almost forgot about those," mused Makoto nostalgically.

"You lived with him and his family, right?" asked Minako, trying to think about something other than the brunette's proximity.

"Yeah, but not that long. I became emancipated pretty quick."

She said this so nonchalantly. Like it was easy. But it couldn't have been easy. "Why?"

Makoto blinked. "What do you mean, why?"

"You had a family. It wasn't your original family, but they cared about you, didn't they? Why did you choose to leave?"

"Did Shinozaki-kun say something to you?"

"No, I want to know," insisted Minako.

"I-" Makoto paused. Minako could tell she was puzzling over her words again.

"I didn't belong there," said Makoto simply.

Minako's confusion didn't lift, so the brunette tried to further explain. "They were a nice family. Didn't need me messing that up. After a while, I couldn't bring myself to keep accepting their charity. And I knew I was a charity case. Messed up kid with dead parents who got in trouble too much at school? They didn't need that kind of grief. So, I ran away for a while. They found me later, and I was doing just fine on my own. Eventually, they helped me be on my own legally instead, because I insisted that it's what I wanted."

"Was it what you wanted?" wondered Minako. Or was she just saying that?

"It's what I wanted for them," stated Makoto firmly, "For me? I just wanted my parents back. But that wasn't going to happen. I had to accept that."

"How did you? How do you come back from something like that?"

"I didn't for a while," admitted Makoto, "But then I met you."

Minako's breath hitched, as Makoto cast a warm smile her way. "You, Usagi-chan, Ami-chan, Rei-chan…You all saved me. So, everything can't be bad. I may not have them anymore, but I at least have you." Makoto withdrew her hand from the album and retreated into the bedroom. "I should really get dressed. I'll be right out."

Minako stared blankly at the closed door. How could someone who'd lost so much smile like that? Minako turned the pages back to her friend's parents and wondered, _'Did she get her strength from them?'_

The fighter reentered, tying up her chestnut locks. "Are you ready to go?"

"I'm not exactly hungry right now," admitted Minako. She was still preoccupied by Makoto's past.

Makoto flopped on the couch next to her. "Oh well, we can wait a bit."

The brunette caught sight of her father, and her gaze softened. Minako couldn't help, but notice.

"Mako-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Tell me about them."

Makoto cocked her head curiously. They had never really talked that much about these kinds of things before.

"Please?"

"Ah...well, okay...How to begin?"

Makoto pointed towards her father and started revealing her parent's history. Her history. She spoke on about how she much loved to sit on her father's shoulders, and how nothing could ever compare to the rich sound of her mother's lullabies.

Minako learned much of Makoto's late parents, her hardships, her heartbreaks, and everything in between. They talked into the night, eventually forgetting about the dinner entirely.

And for the first time in a long time, it was Minako holding Makoto while she cried.

* * *

She woke up on the couch, head in Minako's lap. It was late. Or early in the morning, depending on how one looked at it. She remembered quickly why she was there.

She hadn't cried like that in a long time. Not about her parents at least. She usually saved those kinds of tears for when she was alone. She never burdened her friends with any of that. But Minako kept asking her questions. For some reason, the blonde was so suddenly insistent in learning about her past. Makoto couldn't help, but wonder why.

She stretched her neck and tried to crack her back a bit. Her couch wasn't the easiest place in the world to sleep, she knew. Minako must have been horribly uncomfortable, sitting up like that with Makoto's head her lap.

Makoto rose and scooped Minako up in her arms with minimal effort and carried her sleeping companion into the bedroom. The woman stirred a bit at first, but seemed content once she was placed gently onto the soft mattress. The brunette was almost back out the door, when she heard a whisper.

"Mako-chan..." came a soft mumble.

The brunette paused and waited. There was nothing else. Minako was still asleep. Dreaming about something, she guessed. Maybe the blonde and Dream Makoto were at the mall or fighting youma or something.

She proceeded into the kitchen for a glass of water. A rumble of thunder rolled in the distance. She turned to the window and caught the beginnings of another summer rain. She loved those.

Makoto returned to the bed and quietly slipped under the covers. As she laid there, listening to the rainfall, her mind went back to Minako.

She supposed she could understand why her friend was curious. Shinozaki probably brought up a bunch of stuff about her that Minako didn't know. Assumably, the blonde got jealous that he knew so much about her. It was hard to refute that she and Shinozaki had technically been friends longer.

But it couldn't even compare. Minako had to know that, didn't she?

Shinozaki and she had strong ties, but what she shared with Minako was different. It was a bond that ran deeper than any old friendship or relationship. The connection between Senshi was visceral. Their connection to their Princess was absolute. Her connection to Minako was…

Well, she didn't even know. She could never quite put it into words, but she could feel it. It was there. It was real. It was something else completely.

Shinozaki had a place in her heart and always would, but they had drifted apart as people growing up often did. They went to different schools, befriended different people, and were working towards different careers. She and Shinozaki would always have the past, but Minako had her future.

No matter what or who she would lose along the way, Usagi, Ami, Rei, and Minako would still be there. She had doubts about plenty of things in life, but knew in her gut that their friendship was truth itself.

A peal of thunder cracked the sky, drawing a jolt from the blonde next to her. When tired eyelids began to part, Makoto whispered comfortingly.

"Shh…It's okay, it's just a little thunder. Go back to sleep."

Minako rolled closer, hand clutching at the brunette's t-shirt. Makoto sighed, knowing where this was heading. But she didn't try and deter it. Trying to stop it was probably futile anyway. Minako buried her head sleepily against Makoto's shoulder. She gave in and placed her arm around her slumbering companion.

The affectionate blonde nestled into the embrace, and Makoto smiled fondly down at her. She laid a light kiss atop a golden crown. "I love you too, Minako," she whispered before settling into sleep.

"Reei-chaaan!"

The shrine maiden looked up from her sweeping and saw her idiot blonde friend careening up the steps. She braced herself for the earful she knew was coming.

"Hello, Minako-chan," she said flatly, continuing her work.

"I'm in love," declared Minako.

"You're sure?" Rei had to ask.

Minako nodded vigorously. "I did what you said. I spent some time with her, gauged the attraction, and I'm decided. It's not just a crush. I love her."

Rei hadn't been entirely sure what to expect, so she mentally prepared herself for both options. On one hand, Minako could realize that it was a silly, fleeting crush and would just try to move on without embarrassing herself. On the other hand, Minako could impulsively decide that she was suddenly head over heels for their unsuspecting brunette.

Minako was unpredictable. It made her both fascinating and infuriating at times.

"You're _really_ sure?" asked Rei one more time.

"Yes! Yes!" insisted the blonde, "I want her to be my girlfriend. Now, how do I do that?"

Rei stopped sweeping. "What? How the hell should I know?"

"You're the psychic! Make me a love spell or something!"

Rei's grip on the handle tightened. "Dammit, Minako-chan! I'm a shrine maiden. I'm not a witch, voodoo priestess, hypnotist, or otherwise. I can't make Mako-chan love you, and I wouldn't trick her into it even if I could."

Minako let out an exasperated sigh. "I didn't say trick her. I just want some support here."

"You know I support you. If you want to try to date Mako-chan, that's fine with me. I'll support that desire, but I don't think there's much that _I_ can do about it. It's going to have to come from you."

"Oh come on, you can be my wingwoman at least."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh you know, a wingwoman. Like we're pilots or something. I'm flying the plane of love, and you're helping. Talk me up, drop hints, suggest that maybe she take me out sometime, tell her that you think I'd make the perfect girlfriend."

"We're not picking up chicks at a bar, Mina-chan. This is our friend. We've known her for years. She's not the sharpest, but I think she'd pick up on something if I started calling you 'the perfect girlfriend.'"

Rei shuddered at the idea of having Minako as her girlfriend. Hanging around the shrine all the time, blowing up the kitchen trying to make her coffee or something, dragging her around by the arm on dates. No, Nurse Minako was enough. The thought of Girlfriend Minako was downright terrifying.

"See? This is why you'd make a great wingwoman. You already know Mako-chan well enough to be subtle about it."

"And what about you?" asked Rei, "While I'm 'winging it' or whatever, what are you doing?"

Minako obviously didn't know. But she shrugged and said, "Seducing her, of course."

Rei rolled her eyes. "You say it so simply."

"I've seduced plenty of boys in my time."

"Yeah, _boys_. Not girls. And not Mako-chan."

"Okay, so I don't have a plan yet," huffed Minako, "But you've officially agreed to help me, so that's my first step in this operation."

Rei couldn't remember agreeing. She started to replay the conversation in her head, but was interrupted by Minako's insistent poking.

"Listen, don't tell anyone else about this. I don't want it getting back to Mako-chan. Not yet at least."

They both knew Usagi was terrible at keeping secrets, and the embarrassment would be written all over Ami's face every time she saw either Makoto or Minako.

"I wasn't going to tell," said Rei defensively, "I know Odango-for-brains can't keep her mouth shut. And stop poking me!"

"Now, I'll let you know when I come up with a plan, okay? I'll call you when I figure out what I need you to do. See you later."

The blonde rushed down the shrine steps before Rei could protest. The shrine maiden stood there, dumbfounded at how Minako always managed to rope her into these things against her better judgement.

And she _still_ hadn't been able to pinpoint the moment where she agreed to this wingwoman business.

* * *

End Notes:

I was having friendship feels again, apparently.

Next Chapter: Rei the Wingwoman

See you next week. Hopefully haha.

* * *

To Last Last Week's Reviewers:

Light Penguin:

There are Sailor Moon fighting games, an RPG, side scrollers, and misc Quiz stuff. But I want my damn racing game. You bring up a good point, it didn't occur to me that the new anime could bring the potential for new video games. YES. It doesn't matter what it is, shut up and take my money. Ugh, is it January yet?

I'm not terribly keen on the concept of 'Love at First Sight.' Attraction yes, Lust of course, Fascination definitely. But Love should take some time for people to figure out and accept. I don't think its right to have any of the Senshi just wake up one day and go, "You know, Ami's pretty damn hot. I think starting today, I'm in love with her." That's just disingenuous, and fleshing out the attraction makes it more rewarding, in my opinion.

…

ishi28

I'm kinda bad about spoilers sometimes. I think I'm being totally obvious and everyone can see where things are going, but then a few of my lovely reviewers were like, 'you flat out said she's not gonna end up with Shinozaki in your author's notes.' I hadn't even considered that this might be surprising. So I'm trying to cut back on my big mouth.

You've managed to pick the perfect analogy of why I couldn't write Haruka/Michiru into my last fic. Because I didn't want them to be 'Lesbian Yodas' handing the girls 'How to be cool and gay like us' pamphlets. My next fic will feature them heavily, but with as many problems/insecurities/growth as the rest of the cast. I prefer them on an equal level.

…

PrincessSerenity101:

Mako/Mina 5eva. I mean Mako/Ami and Rei/Mina are awesome and practically canon (okay not really, FANON), but I love reading this pairing. It just gets so damn funny to me when Minako's being all aggressive and Mako's being oblivious to it.

I like to think that the girls are still the same girls in any universe, but you're right. They were treated pretty differently in the last fic. I attribute it to the fact that there's no looming evil in this one. The Senshi are just hanging out, having fun, and are enjoying civilian life without worrying who could die the next day. If I was to throw a youma in this one, Mako would probably get hurt and be all dumb and mad about it - because that's just how I see her doing those kinds of things. In the last one, Usagi's off being silly with Mamoru offscreen, while Mako and Rei are angsting at eachother. But in this one, she just wants to have a good time with her best friends because that's what No Evil Peace Time is all about. The biggest concern for everyone isn't about world destroying, its just about who likes who and when to reign Usagi in when she's abusing her powers.

You've got a pretty good idea of where it's going shipping wise, but I think this chapter will clear it up better than my spoiler rantings.

…..

Vchanny:

Mako's feels will be taking a short hiatus because Minako's feels are happening. And much to Rei's chagrin, these feels are happening at her. Loudly and unceasingly. Mako will figure it out one of these days, that silly, naive bird. She just needs some help.

…

Keesha:

Everything is fine, just life busyness and hardcore procrastination. I was actually justifying my laziness to myself like, "Should I write right now? I mean, I'm totally late...But screw it, nobody gives a crap. My like 5 reviewers will forgive me." But thanks for your concern, it reminded me that there are other readers quietly following from Anonland who would probably prefer I get my shit together. Sorry bout that.

….

Myomi-chan:

Hi new Anon! Welcome to my shit show.

One of my biggest gripes in fanfiction of any kind is when our heroes are ridiculously out of character, so its always nice to hear that I'm close to hitting the right marks with you all.

And I like the Senshi when they're older. Probably because it's closer to my own age, it's easier to write with a degree of honesty and authenticity. They're still the Inners, just with more years of friendship under their belt and different life situations than school.

Thanks for reading!

…

x-Anon-T

Haha, I love watching you go, "Yeah, Shinozaki's okay and all, but also he needs to go fuck off because Mina is Mako's." The general feedback I've been getting is that people feel bad for Shinozaki because he's a sympathetic enough character. I was actually surprised at this, because I was expecting more shippers to just want him to go fuck off. I'd feel like that too, if I wasn't the one writing it. But of course, his presence is completely necessary. Without him adding a new element, Mina would date another dumbass pretty boy and Mako would just quietly hate his guts until the next breakup. Rinse and repeat.

There was a fic that I read a really long time ago, where one of NQS's daughters in CT wanted some spending money and she just goes to a pawnshop and offers the dude an autograph for like 60 bucks. Like 'I'm a Princess, it's worth at least 60! Gimme!' - The notion seemed perfect for Minako or Usagi. So no, I didn't think of it first either.

Both the muffin incident and the inner senshi files were last minute adds. I think I was having friendship feels that day. Plus it occurred to me that when the Kunzite skating thing happened, Minako had only been friends with the girls for like two weeks. Till then, we'd only seen all five girls together fighting the Dark Kingdom, crashing Usagi's princess seminar, and skiing. Minako didn't know them well then, but she does now, but she missed that part where Mako was a total fox.

Because of all the restructuring/rewriting, some of Mako and Shino's sassy banter and rivalry bits get cut. You have to kill your children sometimes, I know. But I got to add some of it back into this Mako/Shino scene. Glad it came off brother and sisterly, because that's how I see them in this fic. They're being trolly jerks to eachother sometimes, but the love is there.

Drunk Minako and Sleeping Minako are ready to take what they want. Kissing and snuggling. Now its time for Sober Minako to figure out what the hell to do with herself. Yes, Makoto is going to lose her damn mind.


End file.
